Asparagus
Family Liliaceae
Asparagus officinalis, asparagus (A. officinalis 1) (A. officinalis 6), is a dioecious plant, up to 1.5 m tall, with much branched stems bearing scale like leaves, in the axils of which clusters of needle-like modified branches that function as leaves, are borne (A. officinalis 2). The small pale green male and female flowers are normally borne on separate plants, single or in clusters of 2-3. The fruit is a round red berry.
Distribution
Asparagus is a native of Europe and has been cultivated since the time of the ancient Greeks. Nowadays the plant is cultivated on a large scale in Europe and North America.
Use
The part of asparagus used as a vegetable is the young shoot or ‘spear’ (A. officinalis 3) (A. officinalis 5), which arises from the rhizome or ‘crown’. This crown is planted in rows, about 30 cm deep (A. officinalis 4), and the shoot is harvested when about 25 cm long. Blanched asparagus is obtained by mounting soil over the row of crowns excluding daylight. At the moment the spear reaches the surface it is cut. Crowns usually yields spears for about 15 years, after that they have to be replaced.
Fresh shoots are eaten boiled, usually with butter sauces. Part of the harvest is deep-frozen or canned.