Spiny asparagus

Asparagus horridus

Family · Asparagaceae · Irritating

Edible

The wild asparagus of the south, sturdier and far better armed than the common one, with rigid spines that genuinely wound. It gives thicker shoots and is preferred by asparagus gatherers in Andalusia and eastern Spain.

Where it grows

Scrubland · Dunes and sand · Walls and rocks · Montado

Also known as

horrid asparagus

In flower

In fruit

How to tell it

A tangled shrub with hard, straight, long spines, much bigger than common wild asparagus's. Stiff green branchlets instead of leaves. Thick shoots in spring. Red berries in winter. Range: mainly a Spanish plant, practically absent from Portugal.

What it is confused with

Wild asparagus

Asparagus acutifolius

Harmless confusion

The spine decides: small and soft on common wild asparagus, long and rigid here. Both give edible shoots, and this one gives them thicker.

Open sheet →

What it is for

The shoots are eaten like common wild asparagus's, and are meatier. The red berries are not eaten. Harvest by snapping the shoot by hand, and carefully: this species' spines do damage.

Traditionally used as food. This is not permission to eat it.

Sources

Flora-On