Plants of
South Australia
Apium annuum
Apiaceae
Annual Celery
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
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Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
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Oodnadatta
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Wudinna
Keith
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 9

Prior names

Apium prostratum, partly

Apium australe, partly

Common names

Annual Celery

Etymology

Apium is an ancient Latin name for celery or parsley. Annuum from the Latin 'annus' meaning year, referring to the species life cycle.

Distribution and status

Found in the southern part of South Austra, growing in coastal foreshore and inland in saltmarsh and other saline habitats. Also found in Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Common in South Australia. Rare in Tasmania. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Small, erect annual herb to 50 cm high, often with many stems. Leaves to 50 cm long, usually divided 1–3 times; upper leaves much smaller than lower; leaflets 3–5, ovate-cuneate, to 2.5 cm long, often deeply 3-lobed with lobes again divided. Inflorescence in clusters to 4 cm diameter with tiny white flowers and a reddish mid rib. Flowering between September to December. Fruits are brown ovoid cluster to 1.5 mm long, with a number of seed segments. Seeds are pale-brown wedge-shaped seed to 1 mm long and 0.5 mm wide, with 5 slender ribs. Seed embryo type is linear under-developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between November and February. Collect maturing fruits by picking off the clusters that are turning brown. Place the fruits in a tray and leave to dry for one to two weeks. Then rub the fruits with a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place.

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)		Number
of plants		Date
collected		Collection number
Collection location		Date
stored		% ViabilityStorage
temperature
 
MSB
4,900 (1.16 g)		40-5019-Dec-2005TEE6
Kangaroo Island
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.
We acknowledge the contributions of the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre, the Botanic Gardens of South Australia, and the Department for Environment and Water.