Asparagaceae FAMILY

Asparagus flagellaris

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

1/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Asparagus flagellaris is a scandent or more or less erect plant with arching spiny annual branchlets produced from a woody rootstock. Closely resembling the commercial asparagus, A. officinalis, its stems usually range from 2 - 3 metres tall, occasionally climbing to a height of 4 metres[ 332 Title The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Publication Author Burkil. H. M. Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 1985 - 2004 ISBN Description Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/ ]. The plant is gathered from the wild for local use as a food and medicine.

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeTropical Africa - Senegal to Ethiopia, south to the Congo and Tanzania.

HabitatThickets and woodland in the savannah[ 332 Title The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Publication Author Burkil. H. M. Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 1985 - 2004 ISBN Description Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/ ]. Wooded grasslands at low and medium elevations, up to 2,100 metres[ 398 Title Edible Wild Plants of Tanzania Publication Author Ruffo, C.K.: Birnie, A. & Tengnas, B. Publisher Regional Land Management Unit; Nairobi. Year 2002 ISBN 9966-896-60-0 Description A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants. ].