Apium graveolens

 The celery plant is a species of vegetable, closely related to the parsley, carrot, parsnip, and water hemlock, that has been cultivated in the Old World since antiquity.

There are three main varieties of domesticated celery. The first is the European or “supermarket” celery, A. graveolens var. dulce, which is cultivated for its swollen petioles (i.e., the stem of the leaf). The second variety is the celeriac, knob celery, turnip-rooted celery, or, erroneously “celery root,” A. graveolens var. rapaceum, which is grown for its swollen, superficially turnip-like stem. The third variety is the Chinese or “water” celery, A. graveolens var. secalinum, which is grown in Eastern Asia. Chinese celery has a stronger flavor, but with more delicate leaves and stalks, similar in appearance and flavor to cilantro. As such, Chinese celery is used culinarily as an herb or flavoring agent, and not as a vegetable like European celery or celeriac.

In Chinese Cuisine, Chinese celery is the most frequently used out of the three varieties, as a flavoring herb, as mentioned earlier, primarily for soups, and can be, culinarily speaking, substituted interchanged with cilantro, flat-leafed parsley, or the leaves of European celery (though the former two cannot be used interchangeably on a medicinal basis). European celery, in turn, is frequently used as an important vegetable element in stir-fried dishes, especially in chow mein. In Chinese Herbology and Food Therapy, celery is used to treat urinary tract infections, and hypertension.