Cardoon

• The cardoon, also called Texas celery or cardoni, comes from the Mediterranean and is used as a vegetable in Italy, northern Africa and Spain. While it looks strikingly like celery, it is likely more closely related to the artichoke and has a more bitter taste than celery. It is typically served in a similar way to celery: as a side dish with dips or sauteed in oil. You may find it available in late fall in farmers markets.

Chinese Celery

• Chinese celery, also called kinchay or khuen chai, is a form of celery native to Europe and Asia. It has longer and thinner stalks than common celery, thick parsleylike leaves and a stronger flavor. Because it is so similar to celery, it can substituted into most celery dishes, especially if you want a more intense celery flavor. It is common in many soups, stir-fries and Asian dishes. The leaves of the Chinese celery taste like their cousin, parsley, and can be substituted for the herb in any dish.

Fennel

• Fennel, also called finocchio, has celerylike stalks, but differs in that it also grows an onionlike bulb. It is a staple in Italian and Indian dishes and is one of the most versatile of the stalk vegetables: The stalks are commonly sauteed or braised; the bulb, frequently eaten raw, as in a salad, has a powerful anise flavor; the leaves, similar to Chinese celery, are an excellent herb; and the aromatic seeds have a wide range of uses, from flavoring sausages to lending fragrance to house sprays. Because of their similar flavors, fennel seeds are sometimes incorrectly labeled as anise.

Rhubarb

• Rhubarb has much larger stalks than celery and the stalks are often red, in comparison to celery, which is strictly green. Because of its extreme tartness, rhubarb acts better as a fruit than a vegetable and is traditionally paired with berries, along with sugar, in pies and preserves. Unlike celery and many of the other stalk vegetables, the leaves of rhubarb are poisonous.