''Ornithogalum pyrenaicum'', also called Prussian asparagus, wild asparagus, Bath asparagus, Pyrenees star of Bethlehem, or spiked star of Bethlehem, is a plant whose young flower shoots may be eaten as a

vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...

, similar to

asparagus Asparagus (''Asparagus officinalis'') is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus (genus), Asparagus'' native to Eurasia. Widely cultivated as a vegetable crop, its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. Description ...

. The common name Bath asparagus comes from the fact it was once abundant near the city of the same name in England.

Cultivation History

Cato the Elder Marcus Porcius Cato (, ; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor (), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, Roman Senate, senator, and Roman historiography, historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He wa ...

recommends growing wild asparagus in his treatise De agri cultura.

References

pyrenaicum Stem vegetables Flora of the Pyrenees Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{vegetable-stub