Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Asparagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Asparagus officinalis
FAMILY
Asparagaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Asparagus from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Police in northeast Germany raced to what they thought was a gang armed with knives and sticks. Read more at "German Asparagus Pickers Mistaken for Armed Gang".
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Asparagus officinalis
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Asparagus officinalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Asparagus officinalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-01-001:
Asparagus officinalis FAMILY Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Asparagus officinalis
COMMON NAME:
Garden Asparagus, Sparrowgrass
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_asof_001_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm230331_2266
March Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm100607_005
June Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm140623_174
June Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Cladophylls (stems w form & function of lvs) in clusters of ~4-15, filiform, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm170826_802
August Spartanburg County SC
Berries bright red, globose, 5-10mm in diameter, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm180906_4591
September Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm180906_4593
September Greenville County SC
Flowers pendant; pedicels w a conspicuous swollen joint; perianth campanulate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm061106_010
November Greenville County SC
Perianth of 6 separate segments, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm061106_025
November Greenville County SC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Asparagus officinalis
FAMILY
Asparagaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Asparagus officinalis
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Asparagus officinalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Asparagus officinalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-01-001:
Asparagus officinalis
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Asparagus officinalis
3510
Forb
Perennial
Dioecious
Habitat: Commonly cultivated, commonly escaped to fencerows, roadsides, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Eurasia
Common (uncommon in GA Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Not armed?
LEAVES:
Evergreen/Tardily deciduous?
Cladophylls and simple scalelike leaves
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Yellow or yellowish-green
6 tepals, perianth campanulate
6 included stamens
Superior ovary
Unisexual
Flowers in 1-3 flowered axillary racemes
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Bright red
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".