Il 
BOTANY 
HE genus Asparagus belongs to the Lily Family. 
It comprises about one hundred and fifty 
species, and these are spread through the 
temperate and tropical regions of the Old 
World. One-half of these species are indigenous to 
South Africa, and it is from this region that the 
most ornamental of the greenhouse species have been 
obtained. 
All the species are perennial, with generally fleshy 
roots.or tubers. The stems are annual in some, 
perennial in others, most of them being spiny, climbing 
shrubs, growing to a length of from five to twenty or 
even fifty feet. The true leaves are usually changed 
into spines, which are situated at the base of the 
branches and are often stout and woody. ‘The false 
leaves, termed cladodia, are the linear or hair-like 
organs which are popularly called leaves; they are in 
reality modified branches. ‘These cladodia are nearly 
always arranged in clusters at intervals along the 
branches, and the flowers generally spring from their 
axils. They usually fall off the hardy species in 
winter, and they are easily affected by unfavorable 
conditions in all the species. Most of them flower and 
fruit freely under cultivation, so that seeds are avail- 
able for propagation. 
