Apium prostratum subsp. howense is a flowering plant in the carrot family native to Australia's Lord Howe Island. The epithet howense derives from the name of that island.[1]
| Apium prostratum subsp. howense | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Apiales |
| Family: | Apiaceae |
| Genus: | Apium |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | A. p. subsp. howense
|
| Trinomial name | |
| Apium prostratum subsp. howense | |
Description
editIt is a perennial herb, tufted, trailing and aromatic when bruised, with stems growing to 30 cm long. The pinnate leaves are 20–170 mm long. The tiny flowers are white to pinkish. The fruits are 1.5–2 mm across.[1]
Distribution and habitat
editThe subspecies is endemic to Australia’s subtropical Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. There it is fairly common in sand pockets and cracks in coralline rocks on the shoreline, within the splash zone.[1] Joseph Maiden's 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia records how 'Apium australe' could be used as a culinary vegetable and also refers to it as 'Australian Celery".[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d " Apium prostratum subsp. howense ". Flora of Australia Online: Data derived from Flora of Australia Volume 49 (1994). Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS). Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ^ J. H. Maiden (1889). The useful native plants of Australia : Including Tasmania. Turner and Henderson, Sydney.
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