Asparagus aethiopicus L.
Sprenger's Asparagus-fern
African Asparagus
Foxtail Fern
Not native to Florida
This plant is an invasive exotic that is altering native plant communities by displacing native species, changing community structures or ecological functions, or hybridizing with natives.
This species should never be planted (many with this designation are prohibited by law), and generally should be removed whenever possible.
Frequently planted in landscapes this plant has escaped cultivation and can frequently be found in disturbed thickets and othe rruderal site in must of Florida, especially in the peninsula. Also introduced in Puerto Rico, California and Hawaii, Asparagus aethiopicus is native to South Africa.
Not a true fern, this plant has branching stems with spines. The leaves are scale-like and what appear to be leaves are actually cladodes, modified flattened branches with chlorophyll. These cladodes are 1-2mm (~1/16 in.) wide, up to 2cm (~3/4 in.) long and appear in clusters of four or more from the leaf axils. The small white to pinkish-white flowers appear in elongated clusters. The fruit is a 5mm (~3/16 in.) diameter berry, initially green, turning red at maturity. These berries each contain a black seed 3mm (~1/8 in.)in diameter.
The common name is in honor of Carl Ludwig Sprenger(1846-1917), a German botanist who lived and worked much of his life in Naples(Italy, not Florida) where he was a partner in a horticultural house. Sprenger popularized this plant as an ornamental in Europe.
Asparagus aethiopicus is a member of the Asparagaceae - Asparagus family.
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Jan 23, 2024