318 Handbook of herbs and spices
18.1.1 Classification
In the treatise Handbook of Herbs and Spices Peter (2001) has given a conventional
classification of spices based on degree of taste and classified celery as an aromatic
vegetable because it is mainly grown for fresh herb, the leaves and petioles. In
another classification of plant organs used as spice, celery has been categorised as a
seed spice because seeds are used as whole seed, powdered or in the form of seed oil
or oleoresins. The taxonomic classification of celery is:
Division: Spermatophyta
Sub-division: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliospida (Dicotyledoneae)
Sub-class: Rosidae
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Genus: Apium
Species: graveolens
On the basis of characteristic features, celery can be classified as shown below:
Foliage colour: green or yellow/golden
Blanching habit: early or late
Bolting behaviour: slow or quick
Climate: temperate or sub-tropical
Life cycle: annual or biennial
Height: tall, intermediate or dwarf
Season: autumn or winter
The classification of Apium graveolens L. on the basis of horticultural types as given
by Orton, 1984 is:
- Apium graveolens var. dulce – blanched celery
- Apium graveolens var. rapaceum – edible rooted celery
- Apium graveolens var. secalinum – leafy type (smallage type)
Rubatzky and Yamaguchi (1997) have reported A. graveolens var. secalinum to be
the most popular celery in Asian and Mediterranean regions. Of the above three
morphotypes of celery, Apium graveolens var. secalinum (smallage type) has been
reported to be commonly cultivated in India for seeds as spices and behaves annual
in growth habit (Malhotra, 2006a).
18.1.2 Description
Celery is a herbaceous annual or biennial erect herb growing to a height of 60–90 cm
with conspicuous branches bearing well-developed leaves on long expanded petioles.
Stems are branched, angular or fistular and conspicuously jointed. Leaves are radical,
pinnate, deeply divided into three segments, once or twice divided and toothed at
apex. The leaflets are ovate to suborbicular, 3-lobed, 2–4.5 cm long. The flowers are
small, white in colour and inflorescence is a compound umbel. Calyx teeth are
obsolete; five petioles ovate, acute with tip inflexed; carpels semiterete, subpentagonal,
primary ridges distinct and filiform. The fruit is a schizocarp with two mericarps,
suborbicular to ellipsoid, 1–2 mm in diameter, aromatic and slightly bitter. The seed
(mericarp) results from the splitting of schizocarp (fruits) and is also ribbed and
much smaller than carrot seed.