Identifying Sea Celery (Apium Prostratum)

Take great care when identifying wild plants and fungi, this blog is not a resource to be taken by itself and further resources will be linked. Consult other sources and double check. While foraging is an extremely rewarding and useful skill, numerous common plants and fungi can make you sick or kill you. Be absolutely sure of what you’re eating and, when gathering, ensure you leave enough not only to ensure the survival and growth of the species but also enough for others to enjoy, from the human and more-than-human communities. Also cultivate an awareness of contamination and pollution – wastewater runoff, spraying, exhaust fumes – as this should affect your decision to harvest.

The Plant

Apium prostratum is a native edible Apiaceae species found primarily on the sea shores of Aotearoa, New Zealand. The name directly translates to prostrate celery/parsley and refers to the fact that this small celery is more sprawling and shorter than it’s domesticated relatives.

Description

Sea celery is a perennial and looks similar to celery or parsley but thicker and waxier. The leaves are a vibrant medium green, are toothed, and two will grow off of opposite sides of the stem. The stem is light green to purple and is crisp like celery. The sea celery I’ve found grows in tight clumps up to 50cm along and 40cm high and smell distinctly of parsley/celery when crushed. It produces white/cream umbel flowers in spring and summer.

Ecology

I have personally found Apium prostratum growing around small pebble headlands and on very exposed and windy sea shores, though it can also be found around muddy marshes, lakes, and riversides. Sea celery is available for harvesting all year round.

Nutritional/Medicinal Information

The Apium species have wonderful antioxidant properties and are high in polyphenols which help neutralise and remove free radicals. Celery has been shown to be anti-inflammatory which can aid in healing bronchitis, psoriasis, high blood pressure, and tumours. Celery is a great source of low calorie dietary fibre which help digestion and bowel health.

Possible Lookalikes

Sea celery is in the same family as poisonous hemlock. It does look considerably different but it may be worth familiarising yourself with hemlock before foraging any other Apiaceae plants. Hemlock is generally much taller, has fern-like leaves, and smells terrible when crushed.

Interesting Facts

The Māori name for sea celery is tūtae kōau and was an important wild vegetable in their diet.

The British coloniser Captain Cook harvested this in bulk and fed it to his crew to protect them from developing scurvy (most unfortunate that he found Apium prostratum in my opinion).

Storing & Cooking

Sea celery is best harvested fresh and stored in a container in the fridge for around 3 days. You could also dry the leaves to turn into a spice or celery salt or freeze the whole stems to add to soups or sauces.

Apium prostratum is a wonderful alternative to regular celery or parsley and is wonderful in soups, stirfries, roasts, salads, and juices. Sea celery does have a salty sea taste to it so you may want to reduce any added salt to a recipe. Enjoy my fellow foragers!

Further Reading

iNaturalist

New Zealand Plant Conservation Network