Botanical art
Common names
Narrow-leaf Sea Celery
Native Celery
Sea Celery
Etymology
Apium is an ancient Latin name for celery or parsley. Prostratum from Latin meaning flat on the ground or prostrate, referring to its habit.
Distribution and status
Found mainly along the coast in South Australia from the Eyre Peninsula to the lower South-east and north to the Flinders Ranges, growing in coastal areas at freshwater inlets, inland along creeks and in slightly salty swamps. Also found in all States except in the Northern Territory. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Flinders Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Prostrate biennial or perennial herb to 70 cm long, with slender branches under 5 mm diameter. Leaves 1-3-pinnate with leaflets entire or divided; undivided leaflets and primary segments linear to narrow-lanceolate, to 6 cm long. Inflorescence in umbels with 4-15 white flowers with tiny yellow-brown midrib. Flowering between December and April. This variety differs from the other found in South Australia in having leaflets that are entire or divided, 6-15 times as long as wide, to 60 mm long, compared to Apium prostratum var. filiforme which have leaflets divided, 2-3 times as long as wide, to 20 cm long. Fruits are brown globular cluster with a number of seed segments. Seeds are orange-brown to 2 mm long and 1 mm wide, ribbed. Seed embryo type is linear under-developed.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between February and June. 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. Seed viability is usually high.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSB | 4,000 (11.04 g) | 50+ | 1-Feb-2006 | HPV3003 South Eastern |
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.