Asparagus officinalis L.

Asparagus, wild asparagus

About plant names...

Many of us think of asparagus as the short stalks from the grocery story, delicious or awful-tasting, depend­ing on who you ask. But these young stalks are babies. They are harvested after the plants become well-established, leaving behind some to grow to maturity and continue to the next season. Asparagus is a native of Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia.

From Thomé, Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm, Flora von Deutschland Österreich und der Schweiz., 1885.

Plants: 3-5' (1-1.5 m) tall. Erect stems branch extensively into progressively finer branches and feathery “leaves,” which are themselves fine stems.

Leaves: Foliage is delicate-looking and resembles soft needles at close range.

Flowers: Flowers are small and bell-shaped, and greenish white to yellowish.

Fruits: Red-orange berries are about ⅛-⅜" (6-10 mm) in diameter. They are not edible.

Edibility: Young shoots are delicious. Don’t eat the berries though. From Wikipedia:

There is a recipe for cooking asparagus in the oldest surviving book of recipes, Apicius’s third century AD De re coquinaria, Book III. It was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, who ate it fresh when in season and dried the vegetable for use in winter.

Online References:

Asparagus officinalis on

Asparagus officinalis on Missouriplants.com

Asparagus officinalis on Wikipedia

Asparagus officinalis on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Asparagus officinalis on luirig.altervista.org

Asparagus officinalis on SEINet—the Southwest Environmental Information Network

8/7/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 24 × 16" (62 × 41 cm)

10/22/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 3½" (13 × 9.2 cm)

Asparagus officinalis description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 30 Aug 2021.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

6/20/2016 · Wildlife Pond Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

8/1/2009 · Stan & Connie’s, Falmouth, Maine

10/2/2010 · Route 209, Milford, Penn­syl­vania
≈ 29 × 21" (73 × 52 cm) ID is uncertain

10/2/2010 · Route 209, Milford, Penn­syl­vania
≈ 31 × 21" (78 × 52 cm) ID is uncertain

10/22/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 4½" (17 × 11 cm)

9/25/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 15 × 10" (39 × 26 cm)

10/22/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm)

8/7/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 15 × 10" (39 × 26 cm)

Range:

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