Flora canaria > Especies silvestres
Cyclospermum leptophyllum
Cyclospermum leptophyllum (Pers.) Sprague ex Britton & Wilson
Familia
APIACEAE
Apio silvestre
Cyclospermum leptophyllum (commonly known as wild celery or runaway celery) is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the Apiaceae family. It is native to the temperate and tropical regions of the Americas, although it is now naturalised in much of the world. Due to its great adaptability, in many regions it is regarded as a ruderal weed or a nuisance to crops and gardens.
It is a delicate, highly branched plant measuring between 5 and 60 centimetres in height. Its stems are slender and completely glabrous (hairless).
Its leaves are green and finely divided into very slender, thread-like segments, resembling needles or threads.
It produces tiny white or greenish-white flowers arranged in small, spherical umbels.
It produces a small, rounded or ovoid schizocarp, which is distinctly aromatic when ripe.
It tends to grow wild on disturbed land, in grasslands, along roadsides, in damp areas and on urban garden lawns. Although it bears a certain visual resemblance to wild fennel, wild celery differs markedly in its smaller size (fennel easily exceeds one metre in height) and in that its flowers are white rather than yellow.
In some South American cultures, the leaves have been used in cooking as a seasoning or vegetable (both raw and cooked), whilst its dried fruits are used as a spice due to an aroma similar to that of coriander. Furthermore, in traditional medicine, it is believed to have diuretic and digestive properties when applied topically.
La Palma, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura
Apio silvestre
Cyclospermum leptophyllum (commonly known as wild celery or runaway celery) is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the Apiaceae family. It is native to the temperate and tropical regions of the Americas, although it is now naturalised in much of the world. Due to its great adaptability, in many regions it is regarded as a ruderal weed or a nuisance to crops and gardens.
It is a delicate, highly branched plant measuring between 5 and 60 centimetres in height. Its stems are slender and completely glabrous (hairless).
Its leaves are green and finely divided into very slender, thread-like segments, resembling needles or threads.
It produces tiny white or greenish-white flowers arranged in small, spherical umbels.
It produces a small, rounded or ovoid schizocarp, which is distinctly aromatic when ripe.
It tends to grow wild on disturbed land, in grasslands, along roadsides, in damp areas and on urban garden lawns. Although it bears a certain visual resemblance to wild fennel, wild celery differs markedly in its smaller size (fennel easily exceeds one metre in height) and in that its flowers are white rather than yellow.
In some South American cultures, the leaves have been used in cooking as a seasoning or vegetable (both raw and cooked), whilst its dried fruits are used as a spice due to an aroma similar to that of coriander. Furthermore, in traditional medicine, it is believed to have diuretic and digestive properties when applied topically.
La Palma, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura
