Asparagus officinalis L., Liliaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: asparagus, garden asparagus

French: asperge

Spanish: espárrago, esparraguera

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Summer-green dioecious perennial, with woody crown; roots long, cylindrical, fleshy.  Stems 60-120 cm high, bright green, stiffly erect ± 1-5 mm long, with short soft basal spur.  Cladoes needle-like, 5-15 mm long, 2-8 at each node.  Flowers axillary, 1-2-(4), greenish-yellow; pedicels drooping, 5-10 mm long; male flowers 5-6 mm long, stamens ± 3 mm long, ovary rudimentary; female flowers shorter, ± 4 mm long, stamens ± 1.5 mm long, functionless.  Berry globose, ± 6-8 mm diam., red.  Seeds 1-9, ± 3 mm diam., black." (Healy & Edgar, 1980; p. 52).

Habitat/ecology:  In New Zealand, "a persistent weed of cultivated land and gardens, occasional along roadsides and on waste sections, rarely along river banks and in salt meadows" (Healy & Edgar, 1980; p. 52).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Europe, W. Asia, Siberia, N. Africa, but the natural distribution obscure owing to cultivation" (Healy & Edgar, 1980; p. 52).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2007) Rare, in gardens.
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 65)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 115) Not commonly grown in Guam.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 93) Voucher cited: MacKee 12295

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Healy, A. J./Edgar, E. (1980) (p. 52) Voucher cited: T. F. Cheeseman (AK 94775)

Comments:  Reported as possibly an invasive plant in the Galápagos Islands per Charles Darwin Research Station.

Control:  See control methods for other Asparagus species.

Additional information:  Additional online information about Asparagus officinalis is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Asparagus officinalis may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

Healy, A. J./Edgar, E. 1980. Flora of New Zealand, Volume III: Adventive cyperaceous, petalous & spathaceous monocotyledons. Government Printer, Wellington, New Zealand. 220 pp.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

McCormack, Gerald. 2007. Cook Islands biodiversity and natural heritage. On-line database.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.