OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Asparagales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Asparagus aethiopicus   FAMILY Asparagaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Asparagus aethiopicus   FAMILY Liliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Asparagus aethiopicus

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Asparagus aethiopicus

(?) (MISAPPLIED) Flora of the Bahama Archipelago (Correll & Correll, 1982)

Asparagus densiflorus

 

COMMON NAME:
Sprenger’s Asparagus-fern, Emerald-fern


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Asparagus aethiopicus, Sprenger’s Asparagus-fern, Emerald-fern

Keith Bradley    kab_a_aethiopicus_74031

May    Miami-Dade County    FL

From a distance, asparagus fern looks very soft or fluffy, per Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants.

image of Asparagus aethiopicus, Sprenger’s Asparagus-fern, Emerald-fern

Keith Bradley    kab_a_aethiopicus_74032

May    Miami-Dade County    FL

Refrain from purchasing, propagating, or planting asparagus fern, per Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants.

image of Asparagus aethiopicus, Sprenger’s Asparagus-fern, Emerald-fern

Keith Bradley    kab_a_aethiopicus_74050

May    Miami-Dade County    FL

Needle-like branchlets are clustered in nodes, per Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants.

image of Asparagus aethiopicus, Sprenger’s Asparagus-fern, Emerald-fern

Keith Bradley    kab_a_aethiopicus_74052

May    Miami-Dade County    FL

"Cladophyll" = a stem with the form and function of a leaf, per Plant Identification Terminology (Harris & Harris, 1994).

image of Asparagus aethiopicus, Sprenger’s Asparagus-fern, Emerald-fern

Keith Bradley    kab_a_aethiopicus_74052b

May    Miami-Dade County    FL

Cladophylls solitary or in fascicles of 3+, linear, flattened, 8-22 x 2mm, per Flora of North America.

image of Asparagus aethiopicus, Sprenger’s Asparagus-fern, Emerald-fern

Keith Bradley    kab_a_aethiopicus_74052c

May    Miami-Dade County    FL

Flowers are white or pale pink, very fragrant, small and hardly noticeable, per Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants.

image of Asparagus aethiopicus, Sprenger’s Asparagus-fern, Emerald-fern

Alan S. Weakley    asw_10231861437614917

July    Georgetown County?    SC

image of Asparagus aethiopicus, Sprenger’s Asparagus-fern, Emerald-fern

Alan S. Weakley    asw_10231861437614917b

July    Georgetown County?    SC

image of Asparagus aethiopicus, Sprenger’s Asparagus-fern, Emerald-fern

Alan S. Weakley    asw_1178954822743049

December    Georgetown County    SC

Naturalizing...

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Asparagus aethiopicus   FAMILY Asparagaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Asparagus aethiopicus   FAMILY Liliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Asparagus aethiopicus

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Asparagus aethiopicus

(?) (MISAPPLIED) Flora of the Bahama Archipelago (Correll & Correll, 1982)
Asparagus densiflorus

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

3859

Forb
Perennial

Habitat: Disturbed areas, seeding down especially around plantings, especially commonly planted in coastal areas; sometimes epiphytic in palm boots, per Weakley's Flora

Non-native: southern Africa

Rare

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.


Invasive?

This plant may be causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:

 

IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Axillary spines small

LEAVES:
Evergreen
Cladophylls and simple scalelike leaves
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White to pale pink
6 tepals, perianth rotate to campanulate
6 stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual

Flowers in axillary racemes

FRUIT:
Red
Berry

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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