Asparagus officinalis L., Asparagaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: shi diao bai

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 (2011) Rare, in gardens.
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Mangareva (Gambier) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Mangareva (Gambier) Island	introduced cultivated	St. John, Harold (1988) (p. 11) Voucher cited: Fosberg 11084 (BISH)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 65)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence 5367 (PAP) Culture expérimentale.
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rurutu Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
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. (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Steppes. N.W. Xinjiang
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 191)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Healy, A. J./Edgar, E. (1980) (p. 52) Voucher cited: T. F. Cheeseman (AK 94775)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Agalega Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Stoddart, D. R. (1983) (p. 126)

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).

Information about Asparagus officinalis as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

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

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

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

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Stoddart, D. R. 1983. List of the recorded vascular flora of Agalega. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

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. 2011. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

St. John, Harold. 1988. Census of the Flora of the Gambier Islands, Polynesia. Pacific Plant Studies 43. Honolulu, Hawaii. 34 pp. [Privately published].

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

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).