Alternative Title: Asparagus

Asparagus, (genus Asparagus), genus of the family Asparagaceae with up to 300 species native from Siberia to southern Africa. Best known is the garden asparagus (Asparagus officinalis), cultivated as a vegetable for its succulent spring stalks. Several African species are grown as ornamental plants.

Physical description

Asparagus species may be erect or climbing, and most of the species are more or less woody. The rhizomelike, or sometimes tuberous, roots give rise to conspicuous fernlike branchlets. True leaves are reduced to small scales. Many species are dioecious (individuals are either male or female), and the small greenish yellow flowers in the spring are followed by red berries in the fall. Members of the genus are characterized by the presence of cladodes, which are leaflike organs in the axils of the true leaves.

Major species

Garden asparagus




Other species

Some poisonous species are prized for their delicate and graceful foliage. Florist’s fern (A. setaceus) is not a true fern and has feathery sprays of branchlets often used in corsages and in other plant arrangements. Sprenger’s fern (A. aethiopicus), African asparagus fern (or bridal creeper, A. asparagoides), and asparagus fern (A. densiflorus) are grown for their attractive lacy foliage and are common ornamentals.

Several species of Asparagus are threatened in their natural habitats. Habitat fragmentation in the Canary Islands has led to the listing of two species (A. fallax and A. nesiotes) as endangered and two (A. arborescens and A. plocamoides) as vulnerable. A. kiusianus of Japan, A. sekukuniensis of South Africa, and A. usambarensis of Tanzania are also listed as endangered, and a Spanish species, A. macrorrhizus, is critically endangered.

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