Asparagus 



LILIACEAE-AMARYLLIDACEAF 



Hippeastruni 



asparagos, a sprout, a shoot.) 



Key to the Species 



a. Stems erect : plants grown for food 1 . 



aa. Stems climbing or drooping: ornamental plants. 



b. Brs. forming flat frond-like sprays: " leaves" linear, short, very 



numerous, in small fascicles 2. 



bb. Brs. straggling, drooping or twining, not flattened: "leaves" 

 linear or ovate. 



"Leaves" (cladodes) ovate: branches twining 3. 



"Leaves" (cladodes) linear: branches straggling. 



Fls. unisexual: dioecious: fr. white or pink 4. 



Fls. perfect : fr. red 5 . 



A. officinalis 



A. pliinwsus 



A. asparagoides 



A. lucidus 

 A. sprengeri 



1. Asparagus officinalis Linn. Garden Asparagus HTJtS (Shih Tao Pai) (B.M.216). 

 Brushy herb, 1-2 m. high; fls. yellowish, V; fr. red, X. Eurasia; locally in Ku. 

 Cultivated, food. 



2. Asparagus plumosus Baker Fern Asparagus jcf'j (Wen Chu) (B.M.216). Climbing 

 herb; fls. whitish, VIII; fr. purple-black. Introduced from South Africa; locally 

 in Ku. Planted, ornamental. 



3. Asparagus asparagoides Wight Smilax Asparagus (B.M. 215). Trailing vines; fls. 

 greenish white; fr. dark purple. Introduced from South Africa; locally in Ku. 

 Planted, ornamental. 



4. Asparagus lucidus Lindl. 'XF^^. (T'ien Men Tung) (Mak.F. 735). Scrambling vine; 

 fls. greenish white, V; fr. white, VIII. Eastern Asia; locally in An., Che., Hun., 

 Ku. Brushland. 



5. Asparagus sprengeri Regel (B.M.216). Scrambling vine; fls. pinkish, VI-VIII; fr. 

 red, IX-X. Introduced from South Africa; locally in Ku. Planted, ornamental. 



189. AMARYLLIDACEAE Amaryllis Family H^f-4 (Shih Suan K'o) 



Perennial herbs (ours), often scapose, usually from bulbs: lvs. alternate, mostly 

 narrow and basal, entire: fls. usually bisexual, borne singly or in clusters from a 

 spathe-like bract; perianth of 6 segments, in two whorls; the inner petaloid, united 

 into a tube which is joined to the ovary below; stamens 6; anthers introrse; ovary 

 inferior, 3-celled: fr. a capsule, rarely a berry. 80 genera with 800 species, in all 

 warm countries; 9 genera and 20 species in China. Allied to Liliaceae, but easily 

 separated by the inferior ovary. 



Key to the Genera 

 A. Perianth without a conspicuous crown at the throat. 



B. Tube of the perianth none, or shorter than the segments. 

 C. Fls. in umbels or racemes. 

 Fls. in umbels. 



Peduncle hollow : fls. nearly regular 1 . 



Peduncle solid: fls. very irregular 2. 



Fls. in racemes, nearly regular 3. 



CC. Fls. solitary. 



Fls. horizontal, quite irregular 4. 



Fls. erect, almost regular 5. 



BB. Tube of the perianth long and slender, usually much exceeding 



520 



Hippeastrtim 



Lycoris 



Polianthes 



Sp7-ekelia 

 Zephyranthes 



