Asparagus lignosus
| Asparagus lignosus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Asparagus lignosus has pale-to-white branches and tufts of cylindrical leaves. | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asparagaceae |
| Subfamily: | Asparagoideae |
| Genus: | Asparagus |
| Species: | A. lignosus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Asparagus lignosus | |
Asparagus lignosus ("Katdoring") is a thorny, spindly creeper of the Asparagus genus, that is indigenous to the Western Cape Province of South Africa.[3]
Description
A rigid, upright shrub reaching 80 cm in height. The branches are zig-zagged, and pale grey-green to white.
At each node along the branch, there is a single recurved 5mm thorn.
The stiff, linear (length 10-20mm), cylindrical, spine-tipped leaves are in tufts.
The flowers are white with a green strip on each tepal. The anthers are orange. They appear singly or in pairs.[4]
Related species
This species is part of a group of closely related African Asparagus species, including Asparagus rubicundus, Asparagus concinnus and Asparagus microraphis.[5]
Distribution
This species is indigenous to the Western Cape Province, South Africa.
Its distribution is from Clanwilliam in the far north-west and Cape Town in the west, eastwards across the Little Karoo and Overberg regions, as far as Mossel Bay in the south-east.
It occurs in rocky sandstone slopes, as well as rocky loamy soils in fynbos or renosterveld vegetation on lower slopes and flats.
References
- ^ "Asparagus lignosus Burm.f." Plants of the World Online. The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
- ^ "Asparagus lignosus Burm.f." Catalogue of Life. Species 2000. n.d. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
- ^ Asparagus lignosus distribution - Redlist
- ^ Obermeyer, A.A. & Immelman, K.L, (1992). Flora of southern Africa, Volume 5, Part 3: 59, 60. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
- ^ Maria F Norup, Gitte Petersen, Sandie Burrows, Yanis Bouchenak-Khelladi, Jim Leebens-Mack, J Chris Pires, H Peter Linder, Ole Seberg. (2015). Evolution of Asparagus L. (Asparagaceae): Out-of-South-Africa and multiple origins of sexual dimorphism. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 92: 25-44.
Further reading
- Pink, A. (2004). Gardening for the Million. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.