ASPARAGUS, a genus of plants of the natural order lillaceer, having an almost hell shaped six-partite perianth upon an articulated stalk, six stamens, one style, with three recurred stigmas, and the cells of the berry two-seeded. The species of this genus are herbaceous or shrubby plants. natives chiefly of the s. of Europe and of Africa, with abortively dieecions flowers; the stem is unarmed in some, in others thorny; at its first sprouting leafless, and covered with scales at the top; afterwards very much branched, with numerous fasciculate, generally bristle-like leaves. The most widely diffused species is the common A., A. offieinalts, a native of Europe, which grows on the banks of rivers and on the sea-shore, in meadows and bushy places, especially in sandy soils, occurring in a feet- places in Britain, and is also in general cultivation as a garden vege table; its young shoots, when they first sprout from the earth, forming a much esteemed article of food, which, however, is only in a slight degree nutritious. These sprouts con tarn a peculiar crystalline substance called asparaginc, and have a specific action on the urinary organs, so that their long continued use in very large quantities is apt even to produce bloody urine. They are no longer retained in the pharmacopmia, but both the shoots and the roots of A. are still occasionally used as a diuretic in dropsies, and as a lithic to dissolve urinary calculi. For these purposes the root is preferred, and is admin istered in the form of an infusion or decoction.—The thick and tender kinds of A.
are most esteemed for the table. It is one of those plants which have been much increased in size and considerably altered in general appearance, by cultivation, being seldom more than a foot high in its wild state, and not much thicker than a goose-quill, whereas it has been obtained in gardens more than half an inch in diameter, and its stems rise to the height of 4 or 5 ft. It was a favorite vegetable of the ancient Romans. It is generally planted in rows, at distances varying from 1 to 2+ ft. Litter or vegetable mold is spread over it in autumn. It is allowed to occupy the same ground for many years, and the shoots are not gathered for use till the plants are four years old. Some of the growers of A. for the London market have 100 acres under this crop.—The seeds have been used as a substitute for coffee, and are recommended for that use upon the continent even at the present day. A kind of spirit has been made from the fermented berries. The young shoots of several other species are also eaten, as those of A. tenuifolius, A. acutifolius, and A. albus, natives of the s. of Europe; the last of which is much used in Spain and Portugal as a salad, in soups, and as a boiled vegetable. On the other hand, the sprouts of the bitter A., A. scan., which is very similar to the common A., are uneatable, on account of their great bitterness.