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Apiaceae FAMILY

Apium graveolens rapaceum

Apium graveolens rapaceum

Edibility
4/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

If the plant is infected with the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, skin contact with the sap can cause dermatitis in sensitive people[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitBiennial
Growth—

A plant of the temperate zone, where it is found mainly at low elevations. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 15 - 25°c, but can tolerate 7 - 26°c[2]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -5°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at -5°c[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 1,200mm, but tolerates 700 - 1,700mm[2]. Prefers a rich moist soil and an open sunny situation[3, 4, 5, 6]. Requires abundant moisture in the growing season otherwise the root will be small and tough[3]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 6.8, tolerating 5.3 - 8.3[2]. Celeriac is a form of Apium graveolens that has been selected for its enlarged edible root. It is occasionally cultivated commercially but more often in the garden or allotment[7, 8], there are some named varieties[9]. Any side-shoots should be removed in order to encourage a larger root[8]. The root is hardy to about -12°c and can be left in the ground over winter, to be harvested as required[8]. Roots can also be stored in boxes of sand or other such material in a cool dry shed[8]. Yields of 14 - 16 tonnes of roots per hectare can be expected[2]. A good companion plant for leeks, tomatoes, French beans and brassicas[10].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow late winter in a greenhouse. The maincrop can be sown as late as mid spiring. Germinates in 2 - 3 weeks at 15°c. Plant out in late spring. The seed can harbour certain diseases of celery, it is usually treated by seed companies before being sold but if you save your own seed you should make sure that only seed from healthy plants is used[3]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Apium+graveolens+rapaceum>

Pollinators

Flies, Self

References

  1. [1]A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. — Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. · Wolfe · 1984 · ISBN 0723408394 ↩︎Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  4. [4]The Vegetable Garden. — Vilmorin. A. · Ten Speed Press · ISBN 0-89815-041-8 ↩︎A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.
  5. [5]Rare Vegetables for Garden and Table. — Organ. J. · Faber · 1960 · ISBN - ↩︎Unusual vegetables that can be grown outdoors in Britain. A good guide.
  6. [6]Salads all the Year Round. — Larkcom. J. · Hamlyn · 1980 ↩︎A good and comprehensive guide to temperate salad plants, with full organic details of cultivation.
  7. [7]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  8. [8]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  9. [9]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  10. [10]Companion Plants. — Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. · Watkins · 1979 · ISBN - ↩︎Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.
  11. [11]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
  12. [12]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  13. [13]Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. — Chiej. R. · MacDonald · 1984 · ISBN 0-356-10541-5 ↩︎Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
  14. [14]The Herb Book. — Lust. J. · Bantam books · 1983 · ISBN 0-553-23827-2 ↩︎Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
  15. [15]The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism. — Mills. S. Y. ↩︎An excellent small herbal.
  16. [16]The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants — Chevallier. A. · Dorling Kindersley. London · 1996 · ISBN 9-780751-303148 ↩︎An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
  17. [17]Edible and Medicinal Plants. — Launert. E. · Hamlyn · 1981 · ISBN 0-600-37216-2 ↩︎Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
  18. [18]Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. — Riotte. L. · Garden Way, Vermont, USA. · 1978 · ISBN 0-88266-064-0 ↩︎Fairly good.