ABSTRACT
Celery, Apium graveolens L., is an annual or biennial member of the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia, occurring in wild habitats in saline soils near coastal regions. Celery seed (actually a fruit) possesses a warm, aromatic, pungent flavor and is used as a condiment in food products. The essential oil distilled from the seeds is also used as a food flavoring.1 Long cultivated as a garden vegetable in temperate climates, A. graveolens var. dulce (Mill.) Pers., with thickened, closely overlapping, ribbed petioles, is the familiar celery of grocery store produce sections. Another variety, A. graveolens var. rapaceium (Mill.), known as celeriac, has a greatly swollen taproot available as a specialty vegetable in the United States and as a staple in Europe.2
