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]
[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.)
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 214.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Asparagus
Sibling taxa
A. asparagoides, A. officinalis, A. setaceus
Synonyms A. sprengeri
Name authority Linnaeus: Mant. Pl., 63. (1767)
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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