Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Asparagus officinalis
Edible: Leaves, Shoots, Vegetable, Roots, Seeds - coffee, Vegetable
A herb. A perennial plant with leaves like a feather and an underground root stock. It grows to 1.5 m high and spreads to 1 m across. The stems are erect but often hang over at the tips. The branches are soft. The leaves are feathery and a rich green colour. The flowers are small and greenish. They are of both sexes and occur either singly or in clusters of 2-4. The fruit are red berries. They are produced on female plants. They are 7-8 mm across. There are 2 or 3 seeds.
It is a temperate or Mediterranean plant. It needs a temperature of 16-24°C for good growth. It needs a lower temperature for 60-100 days when the plants are dormant. In Papua New Guinea it is grown mainly in the highlands at over 1000 m altitude in the tropics. It grows up to 2600 m. It can be grown on the tropical coast with special management. It prefers humus rich, moist, well drained soils. It does best in an open sunny position. It is frost resistant but drought tender. A pH of 6-6.8 is suitable. In China it grows naturally on the steppes in NW Xinjiang. It suits hardiness zones 4-8.
Common Names: Asparagus, Asparges, Ayrelli, Esparrago, Halyum, Hathavariya, Hillua, Kannyut, Katsitsimzukwa, Nag-down, Shi diao bai, Sotomool, Sparanghel, Sparoga, Tsnebek, Tsnepak
Synonyms:
Asparagus longifolius Fisch. ex Steud;
Asparagus officinalis var. altilis L.;
Asparagus polyphyllus Steven