Vallisneria americana

Taxobox
name = Wild celery


regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Liliopsida
ordo = Alismatales
familia = Hydrocharitaceae
genus = "Vallisneria"
species = "V. americana"
binomial = "Vallisneria americana"
binomial_authority = Michx.

Wild celery ("Vallisneria americana") is a plant in the family Hydrocharitaceae (the "tape-grasses"). Contrary to the implications of its name, wild celery bears little to no resemblance to the Celery one may buy at the market. Wild celery grows under water and is consumed by various animals, including the Canvasback. The plants themselves are long, limp, flat, and have a green mid-ridge. Animals may eat the entire plant (both the leaves and the underground tubers).

Despite its name, it is not restricted to the Americas. It occurs naturally in Iraq, China, Japan, Korea, India, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Australia, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Venezuela.

Further reading

* [http://www.dnr.state.md.us/Bay/sav/key/wild_celery.asp Maryland DNR's Bay Grass ID Key] : Wild celery
* [http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/aquatic_plants/submerged_plants/wild_celery.html Minnesota DNR Aquatic plant information] : Wild celery
* [http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/wildcel/index.htm USGS NPWRC report] : American Wildcelery (Vallisneria americana) -- Ecological Considerations for Restoration