Flora of North America species comparison

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Asparagus setaceus

climbing asparagus-fern, common asparagus fern, lace-fern
Stems

to 4 m, wiry, smooth, branches planate;

cladophylls in fascicles of (5–)8–20 per node, filiform, 4–10 × 0.5 mm, ± rigid, with single vein.
Leaves

membranous, 1–2 mm;

blade forming short spine with reflexed apex, base hardened.
Inflorescences

terminally umbellate, 1–4-flowered.
Flowers

bisexual, nodding;

perianth spreading, campanulate;

tepals white, 3–4 × 1–1.5 mm;

pedicel 1–3 mm, jointed at or just above base.
Berries

purplish black, 4–5 mm.
Seeds

1–3.
Vines

, woody, scrambling or climbing to 5 m;

roots fibrous.
2n

= 20.

Asparagus setaceus
Phenology Flowering spring–summer.
Habitat Waste places, abandoned gardens
Elevation 0–100 m (0–300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; FL; s Africa; e Africa [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 214.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Asparagus
Sibling taxa
A. aethiopicus, A. asparagoides, A. officinalis
Synonyms Asparagopsis setacea, A. plumosus
Name authority (Kunth) Jessop: Bothalia 9: 51. (1966)
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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(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

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