Mark Gorz, age 14, of Rhinelander, Wis., for his question:

ARE RHUBARB AND CELERY RELATED?

Stalks of rhubarb and celery side by side certainly look as though they should be related, but in fact the two vegetables are not even cousins. Celery belongs to the parsnip family, Umbelliferae, while rhubarb belongs to the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae. Celery is an annual plant, but rhubarb is one of the few vegetables that produces from year to year. And although classified as a vegetable, rhubarb is usually considered a dessert food, sold either frozen or fresh and used in pies or steamed with sugar.

Both celery and rhubarb plants have large root systems, although rhubarb has .much larger feeder roots from which new plants can be grown. Celery is grown from seeds, which may be soaked in lukewarm water to hasten the sprouting. These are placed in greenhouses or outdoor seed beds, and after eight to 12 weeks the plants are ready to be transplanted to the field.