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{{SPlantbox |familia=Asparagaceae |genus=Asparagus |species=officinalis |common_name=Asparagus |habit=bulbous |lifespan=perennial |life_ref=Sunset National Garden Book |exposure=sun |sun_ref=Sunset National Garden Book |water=wet, moist, moderate |water_ref=Sunset National Garden Book |features=deciduous, edible, foliage |Temp Metric=°F |sunset_zones=1-24, 29-45 |image=Asperges Asparagus officinalis.jpg |image_width=200 }} '''''Asparagus officinalis''''' is a spring [[vegetable]]. A flowering [[perennial]] <ref name="prota">{{cite book |title=Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables |editor1-last=Grubben |editor1-first=G.J.H. |editor2-last=Denton |editor2-first=O.A. |year=2004 |publisher=PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen }}</ref> plant species in the genus ''[[Asparagus (genus)|Asparagus]]'' in the [[lily]] family, like its [[allium]] cousins, [[onion]]s and [[garlic]], it is native to most of [[Europe]], northern [[Africa]] and western [[Asia]].<ref name=fe>{{cite web |url=http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Asparagus&SPECIES_XREF=officinalis&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= |title=Asparagus officinalis |work=Flora Europaea |publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh |accessdate=2010-05-19}}</ref><ref name=empp> {{cite web |url=http://ww2.bgbm.org/_EuroPlusMed/PTaxonDetail.asp?NameId=38660&PTRefFk=500000 |title=Asparagus officinalis |work=Euro+Med Plantbase Project |publisher=Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem |accessdate=2010-05-19}}</ref><ref name=grin> {{cite web |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?300050 |title=Asparagus officinalis |author=USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=National Germplasm Resources Laboratory |location=Beltsville, Maryland |accessdate=2010-05-19}}</ref> and is widely cultivated as a vegetable crop. Asparagus is a [[herbaceous]] [[perennial plant]] growing to {{convert|100|-|150|cm}} tall, with stout larissa stems with much-branched feathery foliage. The "leaves" are in fact needle-like cladodes (modified stems) in the axils of scale leaves; they are {{convert|6|–|32|mm}} long and {{convert|1|mm}} broad, and clustered 4–15 together. The root system is [[Adventitiousness|adventitious]] and the root type is fasciculated. The [[flower]]s are bell-shaped, greenish-white to yellowish, {{convert|4.5|–|6.5|mm}} long, with six [[tepal]]s partially fused together at the base; they are produced singly or in clusters of 2–3 in the junctions of the branchlets. It is usually [[plant sexuality|dioecious]], with male and female flowers on separate plants, but sometimes hermaphrodite flowers are found. The [[fruit]] is a small red berry 6–10&nbsp;mm diameter, which is [[poison]]ous to humans.<ref name="gardengrow.co.nz">http://www.gardengrow.co.nz/plant/Asparagus</ref> Plants native to the western coasts of Europe (from northern [[Spain]] north to [[Ireland]], [[Great Britain]], and northwest [[Germany]]) are treated as ''Asparagus officinalis'' subsp. ''prostratus'' (Dumort.) Corb., distinguished by its low-growing, often prostrate stems growing to only {{convert|30|–|70|cm}} high, and shorter cladodes {{convert|2|–|18|mm}} long.<ref name=fe/><ref name=blamey/> It is treated as a distinct species ''Asparagus prostratus'' Dumort by some authors.<ref name=fnwe>{{cite web |url=http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/BIS/flora.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=4839 |title=Asparagus prostratus (Asparagus, Wild) |last1=Stace |first1=Clive |last2=van der Meijden |first2=Ruud (ed.) |last3=de Kort |first3=Ingrid (ed.) |work=Interactive Flora of NW Europe |publisher=ETI BioInformatics |accessdate=2010-05-19}}</ref><ref name=grin1>{{cite web |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?5538 |title=Asparagus prostratus |author=USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=National Germplasm Resources Laboratory |location=Beltsville, Maryland |accessdate=2010-05-19}}</ref> In northwestern Europe, the season for asparagus production is short, traditionally beginning on April 23 and ending on [[Midsummer|Midsummer Day]].<ref>[http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/leisure/4329516.Time_to_glory_in_asparagus_again/ ''Oxford Times'': "Time to glory in asparagus again".]</ref> ==Cultivation== {{See also|List of asparagus diseases}} Since asparagus often originates in maritime habitats, it thrives in soils that are too saline for normal weeds to grow in. Thus a little salt was traditionally used to suppress weeds in beds intended for asparagus; this has the disadvantage that the soil cannot be used for anything else. Some places are better for growing asparagus than others. The fertility of the soil is a large factor. "Crowns" are planted in winter, and the first shoots appear in spring; the first pickings or "thinnings" are known as sprue asparagus. Sprue have thin stems.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/glossary/s.shtml?sprue_asparagus |title=BBC – Food – Glossary – 'S' |accessdate=2007-06-08 |work=BBC Online }}</ref> White asparagus, known as [[spargel]], is cultivated by denying the plants light while they are being grown. Less bitter than the green variety, it is very popular in the [[Netherlands]], [[France]], [[Belgium]] and [[Germany]] where 57,000 tonnes (61% of consumer demands) are produced annually.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.germanfoods.org/consumer/documents/WhiteAsparagusPressRelease.doc | publisher=German Agricultural Marketing Board | title=Asparagus: The King of Vegetables | author=Molly Spence | accessdate=2007-02-26|format=DOC}}</ref> Asparagus is a useful [[companion plant]] for tomatoes. The tomato plant repels the asparagus beetle, as do several other common companion plants of tomatoes, meanwhile asparagus may repel some harmful root nematodes that affect tomato plants.<ref>http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Asparagus+officinalis</ref> ===Propagation=== ===Pests and diseases=== ==Varieties== Purple asparagus differs from its green and white counterparts, having high sugar and low [[fibre]] levels. Purple asparagus was originally developed in [[Italy]] and commercialised under the variety name ''Violetto d'Albenga''. Since then, breeding work has continued in countries such as the United States and New Zealand.{{Verify source|date=July 2007}} ==Gallery== <gallery perrow=5> File:Asparagus officinalis 002.JPG| photo 1 File:Asperge planten Asparagus officinalis.jpg| photo 2 File:Asparagus officinalis 004.JPG| photo 3 </gallery> ==References== <references/> <!--- xxxxx *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381 --> <!--- xxxxx *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432 --> <!--- xxxxx *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608 --> ==External links== *{{wplink}} {{stub}} __NOTOC__

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