dulce)[1] is a cultivated plant belonging to the species Apium graveolens in the family Apiaceae that has been used as a vegetable since ancient times.

Celery is characterized by its long, ribbed stalks, pinnate leaves, and small white flowers arranged in umbels.

Celery leaves are pinnate to bipinnate with rhombic leaflets 3–6 centimetres (1–2+1⁄2 inches) long and 2–4 cm (1–1+1⁄2 in) broad.

[4] First attested and printed in English as "sellery" by John Evelyn in 1664,[5] the modern English word "celery" derives from the French céleri, in turn from Italian seleri, the plural of selero, which comes from Late Latin selinon,[6] the latinisation of the Ancient Greek: σέλινον, romanized: selinon, "celery".

[1] The plants are raised from seed, sown either in a hot bed or in the open garden according to the season of the year, and, after one or two thinnings and transplantings, they are, on attaining a height of 15–20 cm (6–8 in), planted out in deep trenches for convenience of blanching, which is effected by earthing up to exclude light from the stems.

[12] It was considered a cleansing tonic to counter the deficiencies of a winter diet based on salted meats without fresh vegetables.

[2] Gardeners can grow a range of cultivars, many of which differ from the wild species, mainly in having stouter leaf stems.

The petioles and leaves are removed and harvested; celery is packed by size and quality (determined by colour, shape, straightness and thickness of petiole, stalk and midrib[clarification needed] length and absence of disease, cracks, splits, insect damage and rot).

[17] Freshly cut petioles of celery are prone to decay, which can be prevented or reduced through the use of sharp blades during processing, gentle handling, and proper sanitation.

[20] In 1986, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the use of sulfites on fruits and vegetables intended to be eaten raw.

Celery leaves are frequently used in cooking to add a mild spicy flavour to foods, similar to, but milder than black pepper.

[33] In 2019, a trend of drinking celery juice was reported in the United States, based on "detoxification" claims posted on a blog.

[34][35] Daniel Zohary and Maria Hopf[36] note that celery leaves and inflorescences were part of the garlands found in the tomb of pharaoh Tutankhamun (died 1323 BCE), and celery mericarps dated to the seventh century BCE were recovered in the Heraion of Samos.

[37] M. Fragiska mentions an archeological find of celery dating to the 9th century BCE, at Kastanas; however, the literary evidence for ancient Greece is far more abundant.

[38] In the Capitulary of Charlemagne, compiled c. 800, apium appears, as does olisatum, or alexanders, among medicinal herbs and vegetables the Frankish emperor desired to see grown.

[41] Celery's late arrival in the English kitchen is an end-product of the long tradition of seed selection needed to reduce the sap's bitterness and increase its sugars.

A Discourse of Sallets: "Sellery, apium Italicum, (and of the Petroseline Family) was formerly a stranger with us (nor very long since in Italy) is a hot and more generous sort of Macedonian Persley or Smallage... and for its high and grateful Taste is ever plac'd in the middle of the Grand Sallet, at our Great Men's tables, and Praetors feasts, as the Grace of the whole Board".

[citation needed] The spicy odor and dark leaf colour encouraged this association with the cult of death.

According to Pliny the Elder, in[46] Achaea, the garland worn by the winners of the sacred Nemean Games was also made of celery.