''Asparagus krebsianus'' is a shrub of the ''

Asparagus Asparagus, or garden asparagus, folk name sparrow grass, scientific name ''Asparagus officinalis'', is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus''. Its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. It was once classified in ...

'' genus that is indigenous to rocky areas in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Description

It has tuberous roots, and smooth, grey-green, scrambling-twining, sometimes zig-zagged stems. Stems and branches all have slightly darker spines. The leaves are small, linear or needle-like, slightly triangular in cross-section, and appear in tufts.

Related species

It is part of a group of similar and related African ''

'' species, including ''

Asparagus aethiopicus ''Asparagus aethiopicus'', Sprenger's asparagus, is a plant native to the Cape Provinces and the Northern Provinces of South Africa. Often used as an ornamental plant, it is considered an invasive weed in many locations. Asparagus fern, asparagus ...

'', ''

Asparagus confertus Asparagus, or garden asparagus, folk name sparrow grass, scientific name ''Asparagus officinalis'', is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus''. Its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. It was once classified in ...

'' and ''

Asparagus densiflorus ''Asparagus densiflorus'', the asparagus fern, plume asparagus or foxtail fern, is a variable evergreen perennial plant, closely related to the vegetable asparagus. It is native to southern Africa, from Mozambique to South Africa, but is widel ...

''.Maria F Norup, Gitte Petersen, Sandie Burrows, Yanis Bouchenak-Khelladi, Jim Leebens-Mack, J Chris Pires, H Peter Linder, Ole Seberg. (2015). ''Evolution of Asparagus L. (Asparagaceae): Out-of-South-Africa and multiple origins of sexual dimorphism''. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 92: 25-44.

References

krebsianus Flora of the Cape Provinces Creepers of South Africa Renosterveld {{Asparagaceae-stub