Flora of North America species comparison

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Asparagus aethiopicus

emerald-fern, Sprenger asparagus-fern, Sprenger's asparagus fern
Habit Shrubs, sprawling or scrambling; roots fibrous and tuberous.
Stems

to 2 m, wiry, branches numerous, finely ridged;

cladophylls solitary or in fascicles of 3 or more per node, linear, flattened, straight or curved, 8–22 × 2 mm, with single prominent vein.
Leaves

membranous, 1–2 mm;

blade diamond-shaped, attached in middle, tapering to slender apex.
Inflorescences

in axillary racemes, 5–9(–17)-flowered.
Flowers

bisexual;

perianth rotate to campanulate;

tepals white to pale pink, 3–4 × 1.5–2 mm;

pedicel 5–8 mm, jointed 2–3 mm above base.
Berries

red, 5–8 mm.
Seed

1.
2n

= 40, 60.

Asparagus aethiopicus
Phenology Flowering spring–summer.
Habitat Waste places, abandoned gardens
Elevation 0–100 m [0–300 ft]
Distribution
from FNA
FL; s Africa [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The name Asparagus densiflorus (Kunth) Jessop (Asparagopsis densiflora Kunth) has been misapplied to this species (P. S. Green 1986; W. S. Judd 2001). Asparagus aethiopicus cv. ‘Sprengeri’ is the most common of the asparagus-fern cultivars.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Asparagus
Sibling taxa
A. asparagoides, A. officinalis, A. setaceus
Synonyms A. sprengeri
Name authority Linnaeus: Mant. Pl., 63. (1767)
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 214. Treatment authors: Gerald B. Straley†, Frederick H. Utech.
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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