Product No. P03176

Also known as Apium graveolens.

Celery, Apium graveolens L., is an annual or biennial member of the family Apiaceae, native to Europe, and grows in wild habitats in saline soils near coastal regions and marshlands. Widely grown as a vegetable, cultivated celery is less fragrant than the wild variety. Celery is propagated from seed in spring and harvested from midsummer to autumn. Celery seed (actually a fruit) possesses a warm, aromatic, pungent flavour.

The chemistry of celery seed and its essential oil have been extensively studied. The essential oil contains deltalimonene, selinene, various sesquiterpene alcohols, and the characteristic flavour principles of celery; phthalides, primarily 3-n-butylphthalide, and sedanenolide. The seed also contains a fixed oil with ubiquitous fatty acids, including petroselinic, oleic, linoleic, myristic, palmitic, and stearic acids. Records show that celery has been cultivated for at least 3,000 years and is one of the oldest vegetables ever used in recorded history. The ancient Egyptians were known to gather wild celery from marshy seaside areas for food, and it was known in China in the 5th century BC. The ancient Greeks on the Isthmus of Corinth around 450 B.C. regularly crowned their winning athletes with crowns of celery stems and leaves. 

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