y, one-half inch in diameter at the base, very spinous,
freely branched, and branches zigzag and gray, the leaves in clusters
one-fourth inch apart, hair-like, one and one-half inches long, bright
green, persistent. Flowers axillary, many in a cluster, small,
campanulate, white. Berries globose, dull red, one seeded, one-sixth of
an inch in diameter. Common in various parts of South Africa. It is an
excellent pillar plant.

_A. racemosus._--This species is spread throughout the tropics of Africa
and Asia; the Cape form of it is represented at Kew under the name of
variety _tetragonus_, as shown in Fig. 5. This is a vigorous grower,
with woody stems nine feet long, prickly at the base, fawn colored,
freely branching above, each branch having at its base a sharp spine
three-quarters of an inch long. The leaves are of a gray-green hue,
four-angled, one-quarter of an inch long. Flowers in racemes two inches
long, whitish, very fragrant. Berry red, globose, pulpy, one-seeded. An
excellent climber for rafters, pillars, etc., growing vigorously under
ordinary treatment. Its root system is a dense mass of tubers.

[Illustration: FIG. 5--ASPARAGUS RACEMOSUS, VAR. TETRAGONUS]

[Illustration: FIG. 6--ASPARAGUS SARMENTOSUS]

_A. sarmentosus_ (Fig. 6).--An elegant evergreen species from South
Africa, where it grows freely in moist situations, forming dense, brushy
stems with short prickles, and studded with white, starry, fragrant
flowers, which are followed with bright scarlet, pea-like berries; has
stems four feet high, freely branched and clothed with dark green flat
leaves three inches long. It is also grown in pots and baskets for
the Cape-house, and when in flower it is greatly admired.

_A. Broussoneti._--A beautiful hardy perennial climber from the Canary
Islands, growing ten feet high; feathery foliage and scarlet berries. In
the autumn this is very ornamental.

Among the most noteworthy of other ornamental species are: _A.
Aethiopicus_, _Africanus_, _Asiaticus_, _Cooperi_, _crispus_,
_declinatus_, _decumbens_, _lucidus_, _retrofractus_, _scandens_,
_tenuifolius_, _trichophyllus_, _umbellatus_, _verticillatus_,
_virgatus_, etc., etc.

EDIBLE SPECIES

[Illustration: FIG. 7--ASPARAGUS CROWN, ROOTS, BUDS, AND SPEAR]

[Illustration: FIG. 8--ASPARAGUS STEM, LEAVES, FLOWERS, AND BERRIES]

_Asparagus officinalis._--While the young sprouts of a few other species
may be used as food, this is the only one which has found