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Botany
American Varieties
Pot-grown Asparagus Plants
Manner Of Planting
Historical Sketch
European Varieties
Ornamental Species
Care During The Second Year
The Soil And Its Preparation
Variety Tests
Least Viewed
Recognition Of The Rust
Asparagus Leopard Spot
The Twelve-spotted Asparagus Beetle
The Asparagus Miner
Forcing
Forcing In Hotbeds And Frames
Asparagus In France
Asparagus In New Jersey
Asparagus In The South
Fungus Diseases
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Botany
The genus Asparagus belongs to the Lily Family. It comprises about one
hundred and fifty species, and these are spread through the temperate
and tropical regions of the Old World. One-half of these species are
indigenous to South Africa, and it is from this region that the most
ornamental of the greenhouse species have been obtained.
All the species are perennial, with generally fleshy roots or tubers.
The stems are annual in some, perennial in others, most of them being
spiny, climbing shrubs, growing to a length of from five to twenty or
even fifty feet. The true leaves are usually changed into spines, which
are situated at the base of the branches and are often stout and woody.
The false leaves, termed cladodia, are the linear or hair-like organs
which are popularly called leaves; they are in reality modified
branches. These cladodia are nearly always arranged in clusters at
intervals along the branches, and the flowers generally spring from
their axils. They usually fall off the hardy species in winter, and they
are easily affected by unfavorable conditions in all the species. Most
of them flower and fruit freely under cultivation, so that seeds are
available for propagation.
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