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You are viewing an archived site. The Chesapeake Bay Introduced Species Database project ended in 2020 and the database is no longer receiving updates. Learn more…
Image of Asparagus officinalis

Asparagus officinalis

Plants

Asparagus

Every spring many of us harvest the new shoots of Asparagus out of our gardens or look for wild patches in our neighborhood parks. Asparagus was brought to North America from France back in the 1600 and 1700s but wasn't commercially grown until the 1860s. Its originally from the Europe, North Africa, and Asia, where it grows wild along the seashores and riverbanks. It was probably domesticated by the Romans and has been widely cultivated ever since. Wild Asparagus were seen as early as the 19th century. It can been seen growing along the east coast and in scattered locations across temperate North America (36 states have reported it). It was reported in the Chesapeake as far back as the 1800s and is common on beaches, and marsh edges, but is primarily an upland garden plant.

Image Credit: Anna Guglielmo

Taxonomy Invasion History Ecology Impacts References

Description

Taxonomy

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus
Plantae Magnoliophyta Liliopsida Liliales Liliaceae Asparagus

Synonyms

Invasion History

Chesapeake Bay Status

First Record Population Range Introduction Residency Source Region Native Region Vectors
1837 Established Stable Introduced Boundary Resident Europe Eurasia Ornamental(Garden Escape)

History of Spread

Asparagus officinalis (Asparagus) is a Eurasian plant originally of seashores and riverbanks, native to 'southern Europe and the Crimea' (Sturtevant 1919), eastern Mediterranean sea coast of Europe, North Africa, and Asia (Francois 1987). It was probably domesticated by the Romans (Sturtevant 1919), and widely cultivated ever since. This vegetable was probably introduced to North America in the 1600's to 1700's by Huguenots from France, but not cultivated commercially until the 1860's (Francois 1987). Escaped plants were noted in the early 19th century, 'frequently found in an apparently wild state' (Pursh 1814), 'naturalized in the vicinity of salt water, New York' (Gray 1848). A. offiicinalis' current range is eastern United States north to Canada (Fernald 1950) and now in scattered locations across temperate North America and other temperate areas worldwide (United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service 1998). A. officinalis was reported from 36 states (Natural Resources Conservation Service 1998).

A. officinalis was reported by Aikin for Baltimore (1837) on 'river banks' and by Ward (1881) for Washington. There are numerous reports of its occurrence on sandspits and beaches in Chesapeake Bay (Shreve et al. 1910; Higman 1968; Krauss et al. 1971; Simmons et al. 1995), on mesohaline marsh edges (Wass 1972); seen at Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge and Point Lookout State Park MD (Fofonoff, unpublished date 1995-1996), and salt marsh borders (Redmond 1932). It is primarily an upland plant, but frequently occurs at the upper edge of the intertidal zone. Asparagus officinalis is reported as 'widely but not abundantly escaped' in MD (Brown and Brown 1984), and is found in most VA counties (Harvill et al. 1992).

History References - Aikin 1837; Brown and Brown 1984; Fernald 1950; Francois 1987; Gray 1848; Krauss et al. 1971; Harvill et al. 1992; Higman 1968; Pursh 1814; Sollers 1888; Sturtevant 1919; Ward 1881; Wass 1972; United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service 1998

Invasion Comments

Native Region - 'Southern Europe and the Crimea' (Sturtevant 1919), eastern Mediterranean sea coast of Europe, North Africa, and Asia (Francois 1987).

Ecology

Environmental Tolerances

For SurvivalFor Reproduction
Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum
Temperature (ºC)
Salinity (‰) 0.0 15.0 0.0
Oxygen
pH
Salinity Range fresh-meso

Age and Growth

Male Female
Minimum Adult Size (mm)
Typical Adult Size (mm)
Maximum Adult Size (mm)
Maximum Longevity (yrs)
Typical Longevity (yrs

Reproduction

Start Peak End
Reproductive Season
Typical Number of Young
Per Reproductive Event
Sexuality Mode(s)
Mode(s) of Asexual
Reproduction
Fertilization Type(s)
More than One Reproduction
Event per Year
Reproductive Startegy
Egg/Seed Form

Impacts

Economic Impacts in Chesapeake Bay

Asparagus officinalis (Asparagus) is an important commercial crop in the region around the Bay. Harvesting of wild plants is probably unimportant, but Wass (1972) mentions burning of marshes to facilitate harvesting.

References- Wass 1972

Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay

Asparagus officinalis (Asparagus) is an important crop worldwide, and also present as a naturalized weed wherever it is cultivated, but is not economically important as a weed (Gleason and Cronquist 1991; Sturtevant 1919).

References- Gleason and Cronquist 1991; Sturtevant 1919

Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species

Asparagus officinalis (Asparagus) is fairly common as a terrestrial weed, and is an occasional invader of strandlines and shores but impacts on native biota have not been documented.

Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species

Asparagus officinalis (Asparagus) is fairly common as a terrestrial weed, and is an occasional invader of strandlines and shores but impacts on exotic biota have not been documented.

References

Aikin, W. E. A. (1837) Catalogue of phenogamous plants and ferns, native or naturalized, growing in the vicinity of Baltimore, Maryland., Transactions of the Maryland Academy of Sciences and Literature 1: 55-91

Anderson, Richard D.; Brown, Russell, G.; Rappleye, Robert D. (1968) Water quality and plant distribution along the upper Patuxent River, Maryland, Chesapeake Science 9: 145-156

Brown, Melvin L.; Brown, Russell G. (1984) Herbaceous Plants of Maryland, , College Park. Pp.

Fernald, Merritt L. (1950) Gray's Manual of Botany, In: (Eds.) . , New York. Pp.

Francois, L. E. (1987) Salinity effects on asparagus yield and vegetative growth, Journal of the American Society of Horticultural Science 112: 432-436

Gleason, Henry A.; Cronquist, Arthur (1991) Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, In: (Eds.) . , Bronx, New York. Pp.

Gray, Asa (1848) A manual of botany of the northern United States., In: (Eds.) . , Boston. Pp.

Harvill, A. M.; Bradley, Ted R.; Stevens, Charles E.; Wieboldt, Thomas F.; Ware, Donna M. E.; Ogle, Douglas W.; Ramsey, Gwynn W.; Fleming, Gary P. (1992) Atlas of the Virginia Flora, , Burkeville, VA. Pp.

Higman, Daniel (1968) An ecologically annotated checklst of the vascular flora at the Chesapeake Bay Center for Field Biology., In: (Eds.) . , Washington, D.C.. Pp.

Kartesz, John T. (1994) A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland., In: (Eds.) . , Portland OR. Pp.

Krauss, R.W.; Brown, R. G.; Rappleye, R. D.; Owens, A. B.; Shearer, C.; Hsiao, E.; Reveal, J. (1971) Checklist of plant species occurring within the hightide limits of the Chesapeake Bay, and its tributaries., , College Park, Maryland. Pp.

Mills, David (1989) Differential response of various tissues of Asparagus officinalis to sodium chloride, Journal of Experimental Botany 40: 485-491

Mills, Edward L.; Leach, Joseph H.; Carlton, James T.; Secor, Carol L. (1993) Exotic species in the Great Lakes: a history of biotic crises and anthropogenic introductions., Journal of Great Lakes Research 19: 1-54

Mills, Edward L.; Scheuerell, Mark D.; Carlton, James T.; Strayer, David (1997) Biological invasions in the Hudson River: an inventory and historical analysis., New York State Museum Circular 57: 1-51

Pursh, Frederick (1814) Flora Americae Septentrionalis or, a Systematic Arrangement and Description of the Plants of North America, , Hirschburg. Pp.

Redmond, Paul J. (1932) A flora of Worcester County, Maryland, Contributions from the Biological Laboratory of the Catholic University of America 11: 1-104

Shreve, Forrest M.; Chrysler, M. A.; Blodgett, Frederck H.; Besley, F. W. (1910) The Plant Life of Maryland, , Baltmore. Pp.

Simmons, Mark P.; Ware, Donna M.; Hayden, W. John (1995) The vascular flora of the Potomac River watershed of King George County, Virginia, Castanea 60: 179-209

Sollers, Basil (1888) Check list of plants compiled for the vicinity of Baltimore., , Baltimore. Pp.

Sturtevant, E. L. (1919) Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, , New York. Pp.

Ward, L. F. (1881) Guide to the flora of Washington and Vicinity, United States National Museum Bulletin 22: 1-264

Wass, Melvin L. (1972) A checklist of the biota of lower Chesapeake Bay, Special Scientific Report, Virginia Institute of Marine Science 65: 1-290

Direct questions and comments to chesnemo@si.edu.

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