About Asparagus retrofractus L.
Asparagus retrofractus L. is a large, spreading, tangled shrub. It produces long, scrambling-climbing, light-grey, zig-zagged stems. The bases of its stems are erect, thick, and silver-coloured, while the stem tips and outer branches are slender, silver, and also zig-zagged. It does not have spines on its outer final branches, but sometimes bears highly recurved spines on its main branches. Older stems lose their silver, grooved outer covering and become brown and smooth. Its leaves are linear or needle-shaped, 10 to 30 millimeters long, curved, and grow in delicate tufts. The fruits are small stalked pendulous green berries, 7 millimeters in diameter, that turn orange when ripe. This species has fibrous roots. It is indigenous to the dry western regions of South Africa. Its range extends from Namibia in the north, across Northern Cape Province, and south as far as Cape Town, Caledon, Worcester, and Montagu in the winter rainfall western portion of Western Cape Province. It prefers rocky, sandy habitats and is especially common in river valleys.
