Asparagus is widely grown throughout the world because it is a nutritious vegetable that can be added to all types of diets. It belongs to the Liliaceae family and is native to South Africa. All species in this family have excellent characteristic, dark green, and very dense leaves. There are different types of asparagus depending on the origin and characteristics.
Therefore, we are going to dedicate this article to tell you what are the different types of asparagus and their characteristics.
Asparagus characteristics
It is a fairly resistant plant, and its strangest characteristic is the shape of its roots. Because they have small bulbs where water can be stored to supply the entire plant. This reserve of water in the roots makes it highly resistant to drought. Because of this, asparagus has adapted to the drier South African climate and has been able to adapt well to the drought.
Flowering is usually not expected because it seems trivial and is not of much decorative interest. It is not a plant with ornamental characteristicsbut is used more for the cultivation and subsequent consumption of asparagus. It only needs some care so that it can thrive in the right conditions.
The only thing that can be saved from this plant for decoration is that if we take good care of it, its leaves will be very tight and will form feathery style leaves like hanging cones. The main objective is to produce in agriculture, then to sell and eat.
Types of asparagus
There are numerous varieties of asparagus and each one has its different characteristics depending on the origin and the area of distribution. Let’s see which are the most important:
Asparagus acutifolius
It is distributed throughout the Mediterranean basin. In France, it is found in the south of the country; It is also common in almost the entire peninsula and the Balearic Islands, in Spain, and in Italy and Greece. It is a perennial, perennial perennial plant. It can be found naturally on roads, dry and sunny soils. In sprouts or asparagus, you can find large amounts of asparagine.
This asparagus differs from other asparagus by the large number of dark green twigs that cover almost the entire plant. It often bears the bearing of small grape vines. It lives in cool, shady places, but it will likely match other varieties of asparagus in the same location. It blooms in late summer.
horrible asparagus
The best wild asparagus is usually taken from this asparagus. It is a gray shrub with large, hard spines. We find it in dry bushes and on the edges of fields and roads. Blooms in fall. It is native to Barcelona, Castellón, Alicante, Girona, Lleida, Tarragona, Valencia, Murcia, Southeast of Albacete and the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean, where they are found in dry places, bushes and roads.
Asparagus plumosus
Plant native to South Africa. It is a climbing plant, always greenup to 5 m tall, it produces long, branching stems with small needle-shaped leaves that lie in the same plane as the lateral branches.
Asparagus setaceus
They are climbing plants and can reach a height of more than 3 meters, but the commonly cultivated variety “Nanus” is much smaller. The feather-like leaves are actually modified stems called branches. The actual leaves are small and look like scales. These flowers are not ornamental, but their red fruits are decorative.
Although commonly used as hanging potted houseplants, they are also interesting and can be used as climbing plants in less shady shrubs or on north facing terraces and walls in frost free areas. They are also used to make floral decorations.
Asparagus officinalis
It is a perennial herb with highly branched leaves and a feathery appearance. It has been grown in the ground for a long time. Asparagus plants are made up of branched aerial stems and underground parts made up of roots and shoots, commonly known as “claws.”
The vegetable called asparagus is obtained from the sprouts. The leaves shrink into scales, with green filamentous branches at their bases. These branches reach 25 mm long. Flowering occurs in June. The flowers are small, bell-shaped, with a peduncle, distributed in pairs or solitary. Male and female flowers can be found on different plants.
Asparagus sprengeri
They are plants that have only the basal part because the new shoots are herbaceous, provided with an underground stem that is transformed to store and that through this condition allows the plant to survive in extreme conditionswhich can be both in cold seasons and in extreme droughts.
This variety is characterized by having very thin stems with hard and flat leaves, dark green being one of its main attractions. It also consists of small pink flowers with a soft and beautiful fragrance. As for the method of reproduction of this plant, the common method is to find the seeds in the red berries or by dividing the leaves, using the tuberous roots.
Asparagus densiflorus
Native plants of South Africa, very invasive in Hawaii. It is a perennial plant, evergreen, with erect stems, with clusters of greasy, small and feathery stems. In summer it blooms with white and pink flowers. Contact with plant sap can cause skin irritation and ingesting your berry toxicity.
Asparagus albus
It is a strong and dense shrub, up to 50 cm in length at 1 meter. The stems, branches and leaves become branched, angular, elastic and smooth; the branches and leaves are 12-20 mm long, with 3-4 linear angles, smooth, slightly fleshy.
The flowers are white and fragrant. It is a plant native to Sardinia, Sicily, Italy, Spain and Portugal in the western Mediterranean and North Africa. It can be found in Spain in Barcelona, the Balearic Islands, Las Palmas, Castellón, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and in southern Andalusia in the province of Malaga.
Asparagus asparagoides
It is native to South Africa. Since 1871, it has been extremely invasive in Australia and has therefore been considered a weed. Traditionally it is called Smilax or Camila. It is a perennial climbing plant, 3 m high, tuberous roots, with oval branches. Although it is sometimes recommended to use it as a hanging device, it is very difficult to grow it as a houseplant.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the types of asparagus that exist.
