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ASPARAGUS 



ASPARAGUS 



ASPARAGUS, OENAMENTAL. Liliacece. The genus 

 Asparagus comprises about 150 species, which are widely 

 dispersed in warm or tropical regions, being particularly 

 abundant in S. Afr. The species are of very various 

 habit. Some are climbers, some drooping or trailing, and 

 some erect-bushy. Many of them are highly prized for 

 their very graceful and fine foliage. Some species even 

 surpass the most delicate ferns in elegance of habit and 

 delicacy of spray. The foliage is really composed of leaf- 

 like branches (cladophylla) rather than of true Ivs. (see 

 Fig. 151, and the discussion of it). Although all are per- 

 ennial, the sts. of some kinds annually die down or cast 

 their Ivs. With the exception of A. vertlcillatus, the fol- 

 lowing species must be grown under glass, except in 

 S. Fla. and S. Calif. They are of easy culture. Best 

 when propagated by seeds (which are usually freely pro- 

 duced), but are also multiplied by division and cuttings. 

 Roots generally tuberous. Mongr. by Baker, Journ. 

 Linn. Soc. 14 (1875) ; account of cult, species by Watson, 

 G.C. 111.23:122, 147, 178. 



A. Foliage ovate. 



medeoloides, Thunb. (Myrsipnyllum asparagoldes, 

 Willd.). SMILAX of florists. Fig. 152. Tall, slender, gla- 

 brous twiner : cladophylla 1 in. or more long, thick, 

 glossy green on both sides, strong-nerved, standing edge- 

 wise to the branch : fls. single, fragrant ; berries dark 

 green. S.Afr. B.M. 5584. Much grown by florists for 

 use in decorations ( see cultural notes below) . 



AA. Foliage narrow, but distinctly flat and plain. 



Spr6ngeri, Regel. Figs. 153, 154. Tubers fleshy, white : 

 branches long and slender, branched, drooping : Ivs. 

 1 in. long, glossy green: fls. small and whitish, in short 

 racemes, fragrant: berry small, coral-red. Natal. Gn. 

 54,p.88. A.G. 18:86,883; 19:101. Gng. 4:167. F.E.9: sup. 

 Mn. 8:151. One of the most popular basket and decora- 

 tive plants, of easy cult. Prop, by division, but most 

 efficiently by seeds, which can be purchased. At a night 

 temp, of 65 they germinate in 4-5 weeks. Int. to horti- 

 culture by Dammann & Co., Italy, in 1890, and named for 

 their collector, Herr Sprenger. There is a white-lvd. 

 variety. 



lucidus, Lindl. Climber : tubers l%in. long : sts. 4-6 

 ft., spiny, branching : Ivs. narrow and curved, 2 in. or 

 less long, 2-6 in a cluster, more or less deciduous : fls. 

 small, white, axillary : berries pink or white, %in. in 

 diam. China and Japan, where the tubers are eaten 

 (A.G. 13:78). Needs warm treatment. 



AAA. Foliage filiform or thread-like. 



plumosus, Baker. Fig. 155. Tall-climbing, with spiny 

 terete sts. (10-15 ft.) : branches flattish and spreading 

 horizontally in elegant sprays : Ivs. short, bright green, 

 in clusters : fls. white, commonly solitary : berry black, 

 nearly globular, 1-seeded. S.Afr. G.C. III. 23:146.- 

 One of the most popular of decorative plants, the cut 

 strands holding their shape and color for weeks ( see note 

 on culture below) . It is propagated by seeds, division, and 

 cuttings. Several garden forms. Var. nanus, Hort., Fig. 



plant or seeds being the only methods that answer for it," 

 A. F. 11:1178. Var. tenuissimus, Hort. (A. tenuissimus, 

 Hort.). Fig. 156. Only partially climbing, very light 



152. Asparagus medeoloides, or Smilax. 

 Natural size. 



155 (but not dwarf, as its name implies), is commoner 

 than the type, from which it is distinguished, according to 

 Watson, "by the fulness and flatness of its fronds, and by 

 its refusal to multiply by means of cuttings, division of the 



153. Asparagus 



Sprengeri (X %) . 



green : sprays more open and delicate than those of 

 the type, because of the fewer and longer Ivs. Var. 

 declinatus, Hort., has drooping sprays. Var. cristatus, 

 Hort., has forking-tasseled sprays. 



Comorensis, Hort. Similar to A. plumosus : more ro- 

 bust, darker green, softer foliage : berries globular. 

 G.C. 111.23:181. I.H. 42, p. 61. 



crispus, Lam. (A. decumbens, Jacq., and Hort.). Tu- 

 bers many, oblong : climbing (2-4 ft.), the sts. fine or 

 almost hair-like and annual, the branches zigzag : Ivs. 

 numerous, usually in close pairs, very short (% in.), 

 glaucous-green : fls. white, with orange anthers : 

 berry large (%in. long), oval, soft, brown, about 

 6-seeded. S. Afr. A. defUxus, Hort., is probably 

 a form of this species. 



verticillatus, Linn. Tall-climbing (10-15 ft.) 

 hardy plant : rootstock woody : sts. stout (%in. in 

 diam.), said to be edible when young, but becom- 

 ing woody, spiny : Ivs. in tufts, hair-like, 2 in. 

 or less long : fls. small : berries red. Persia, Si- 

 beria 



retrofractus, Linn. (A. retrofrdctus arbdreus, 

 Hort.). Sts. slender (4-8 ft.), becoming woody and 

 gray, scarcely climbing, zigzag, spiny, the branches 

 wiry: Ivs. in close clusters, green, hair-like, 1-2 in. 

 long : fls. white, small, umbellate : berry small, 

 nearly globular, 1-seeded. S. Afr. 



virgd,tus, Baker. A bushy, branchy plant 3-6 ft., 

 the branches arching : Ivs. in 3's, dark green, 1 

 in. or less long : fls. small, white: berries red, 1-seeded. 

 S. Afr. 



A. acutifolius, Linn. Hardy, rigid, 5 ft.: Ivs. tufted, hair-like: 

 fls. yellow: berry red. Eu. A. ^thiopicus, Linn. Suggests A. 



