Asparagus officinalis
Wild Asparagus in Austria
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Asparagales Family: Asparagaceae Genus: Asparagus Species: A. officinalis
Binomial name
Asparagus officinalis L.

Asparagus officinalis is a flowering plant species in the genus Asparagus from which the vegetable known as asparagus is obtained. It is native to most of Europe, northern Africa and western Asia.^[1][2][3] It is now also widely cultivated as a vegetable crop.^[4] Species See text. ... Asparagus is a brownish shade of green that resembles the plant asparagus. ... Scientific classification redirects here. ... For other uses, see Plant (disambiguation). ... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of land plants. ... Liliopsida is the botanical name for a class. ... Families according to the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group Agapanthus Agavaceae Alliaceae Amaryllidaceae Aphyllanthaceae Asparagaceae Asphodelaceae Asteliaceae Blandfordiaceae Boryaceae Doryanthaceae Hemerocallidaceae Hyacinthaceae Hypoxidaceae Iridaceae Ixioliriaceae Lanariaceae Laxmanniaceae Orchidaceae Ruscaceae Tecophilaeaceae Themidaceae Xanthorrhoea Xeronema Asparagales is an order of monocots which includes a number of families of non-woody plants. ... Genera Asparagus Myrsiphyllum Protasparagus The Asparagaceae is a flowering plant family in the order Asparagales, containing three genera. ... Species See text. ... Latin name redirects here. ... Carl Linnaeus, Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 13, 1707[1] – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[2] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... Lactose is a disaccharide found in milk. ... Dietary fibers are the indigestible portion of plant foods that move food through the digestive system, absorbing water and making defecation easier. ... For other uses, see FAT. Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. ... A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin showing coloured alpha helices. ... For the similarly spelled pyrimidine, see Thymine Thiamin or thiamine, also known as vitamin B1 and aneurine hydrochloride, is one of the B vitamins. ... Riboflavin (E101), also known as vitamin B2, is an easily absorbed micronutrient with a key role in maintaining health in animals. ... Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid or vitamin B3, is a water-soluble vitamin whose derivatives such as NADH, NAD, NAD+, and NADP play essential roles in energy metabolism in the living cell and DNA repair. ... Pantothenic acid, also called vitamin B5 (a B vitamin), is a water-soluble vitamin required to sustain life (essential nutrient). ... Pyridoxine Pyridoxal phosphate Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin. ... Folic acid (the anion form is called folate) is a B-complex vitamin (once called vitamin M) that is important in preventing neural tube defects (NTDs) in the developing human fetus. ... This article is about the nutrient. ... For other uses, see Calcium (disambiguation). ... Fe redirects here. ... Introduction Magnesium is an essential element in biological systems. ... General Name, symbol, number phosphorus, P, 15 Chemical series nonmetals Group, period, block 15, 3, p Appearance waxy white/ red/ black/ colorless Standard atomic weight 30. ... General Name, symbol, number potassium, K, 19 Chemical series alkali metals Group, period, block 1, 4, s Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight 39. ... General Name, symbol, number zinc, Zn, 30 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 12, 4, d Appearance bluish pale gray Standard atomic weight 65. ... General Name, symbol, number manganese, Mn, 25 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 7, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Standard atomic weight 54. ... Reference Daily Intake (RDI) is the daily dietary intake level of a nutrient considered sufficient to meet the requirements of nearly all (97–98%) healthy individuals in each life-stage and gender group. ... Species See text. ... For other uses, see Vegetable (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Vegetable (disambiguation). ...

Biology

Asparagus is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 100-150 cm tall, with stout larissa stems with much-branched feathery foliage. The 'leaves' are in fact needle-like cladodes (modified stems) in the axils of scale leaves; they are 6–32 mm long and 1 mm broad, and clustered 4–15 together. The flowers are bell-shaped, greenish-white to yellowish, 4.5–6.5 mm long, with six tepals partially fused together at the base; they are produced singly or in clusters of 2-3 in the junctions of the branchlets. It is usually dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants, but sometimes hermaphrodite flowers are found. The fruit is a small red berry 6–10 mm diameter. Green asparagus is eaten worldwide, commonly with eggs in China and with beef in Britain. It is not considered a delicacy as it is very cheap and easy to obtain.^[5] This does not hold for white asparagus, see below. These are considered a popular but expensive May-June seasonal delicacy in northwest Europe, locally nicknamed "white gold". This article is about the plants used in cooking and medicine. ... Red Valerian, a perennial plant. ... For other uses, see Flower (disambiguation). ... Look up perianth in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Close-up of an Echinopsis spachiana flower, showing both carpels (only the styles and stigmas are visible) and stamens, making it a complete flower. ... For other uses, see Fruit (disambiguation). ... For the botanical genus, see Asparagus (genus). ...

Plants native to the western coasts of Europe (from northern Spain north to Ireland, Great Britain, and northwest Germany) are treated as Asparagus officinalis subsp. prostratus (Dumort.) Corb., distinguished by its low-growing, often prostrate stems growing to only 30–70 cm high, and shorter cladodes 2–18 mm long.^[1][5] It is treated as a distinct species Asparagus prostratus Dumort. by some authors.^[6][7]

History

Asparagus has been used from very early times as a vegetable and medicine, owing to its delicate flavour and diuretic properties. There is a recipe for cooking asparagus in the oldest surviving book of recipes, Apicius’s third century AD De re coquinaria, Book III. It was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, who ate it fresh when in season and dried the vegetable for use in winter.^{[verification needed]} It lost its popularity in the Middle Ages but returned to favour in the seventeenth century.^[8] This illustration shows where some types of diuretics act, and what they do. ... This article is about culinary recipes. ... Apicius was a name applied to three celebrated Roman epicures, the first of whom lived during the Republic; the second of whom, Marcus Gavius (or Gabius) Apicius—the most famous in his own time—lived under the early Empire; a third lived in the late 4th or early 5th century. ... De re coquinaria is the oldest known cookbook, dating from the 3rd century A.D., still in existence. ...

Uses

Culinary

Three types of asparagus on a shop display, with white asparagus at the back and green asparagus in the middle. The plant at the front is Ornithogalum pyrenaicum, is commonly called wild asparagus, and sometimes "Bath Asparagus".

Only the young shoots of asparagus are eaten. Asparagus is low in calories, contains no fat or cholesterol, and is very low in sodium. It is a good source of folic acid, potassium, dietary fiber, and rutin. The amino acid asparagine gets its name from asparagus, the asparagus plant being rich in this compound. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 600 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (944 × 944 pixel, file size: 777 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 600 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (944 × 944 pixel, file size: 777 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Binomial name Ornithogalum pyrenaicum L. Ornithogalum pyrenaicum, also called Prussian asparagus, Pyrenees star of Bethlehem or spiked star of Bethlehem, is a plant whose young shoots may be eaten as a vegetable, similar to asparagus. ... Folic acid and folate (the anion form) are forms of the water-soluble Vitamin B9. ... General Name, symbol, number potassium, K, 19 Chemical series alkali metals Group, period, block 1, 4, s Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight 39. ... Dietary fibers are the indigestible portion of plant foods that move food through the digestive system, absorbing water and making defecation easier. ... Rutin, also called rutoside, quercetin-3-rutinoside and sophorin, is a citrus flavonoid glycoside found in buckwheat, the leaves and petioles of Rheum species, and the fruit of the Fava DAnta tree (from Brazil), as well as other sources. ... This article is about the class of chemicals. ... For other articles using the abbreviation or acronym asn see ASN. Asparagine is one of the 20 most common natural amino acids on Earth. ...

The shoots are prepared and served in a number of ways around the world. In Asian-style cooking, asparagus is often stir-fried. Cantonese restaurants in the United States often serve asparagus stir-fried with chicken, shrimp, or beef, also wrapped in bacon. Asparagus may also be quickly grilled over charcoal or hardwood embers. It is also used as an ingredient in some stews and soups. In the French style, it is often boiled or steamed and served with hollandaise sauce, melted butter or olive oil, Parmesan cheese or mayonnaise. The best asparagus tends to be early growth (meaning first of the season) and is often simply steamed and served along with melted butter. Tall, narrow asparagus cooking pots allow the shoots to be steamed gently, their tips staying out of the water. CITIC Plaza Guangzhou (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin:  ; jyutping : Gwong²zau¹) is the capital and a sub-provincial city of Guangdong Province in the southern part of the Peoples Republic of China. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Superfamilies Alpheoidea Atyoidea Bresilioidea Campylonotoidea Crangonoidea Galatheacaridoidea Nematocarcinoidea Oplophoroidea Palaemonoidea Pandaloidea Pasiphaeoidea Procaridoidea Processoidea Psalidopodoidea Stylodactyloidea True shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. ... For other uses, see Beef (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Bacon (disambiguation). ... Hollandaise sauce (a French idea of a Dutch sauce) is an emulsion of butter and lemon juice using egg yolks as the emulsifying agent. ... For the Popeye character, see Olive Oyl. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Parmigiano_Reggiano. ... For the song by The Smashing Pumpkins, see Mayonaise (song). ...

Asparagus can also be pickled and stored for several years. Some brands may label them as "marinated" which means the same thing. Pickling is the process of preparing a food by soaking and storing it in a brine (salt) or vinegar solution, a process which can preserve otherwise perishable foods for months. ...

The bottom portion of asparagus often contains sand, and as such proper preparation is generally advised in cooking asparagus.

Medicinal

Asparagus rhizomes and root is used ethnomedically to treat urinary tract infections, as well as kidney and bladder stones.^{[citation needed]} It is also believed to have aphrodisiac properties, owing to its phallic shape. For other uses, see Rhizome (disambiguation). ... Ethnomedicine is a sub-field of medical anthropology and deals with the study of traditional medicines: not only those that have relevant written sources (e. ... A urinary tract infection (UTI) is a bacterial infection that affects any part of the urinary tract. ... This article is about agents which increase sexual desire. ...

Ingestion of asparagus may bring on an attack of gout^[9] in certain individuals due to the high level of purines. Purine (1) is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound, consisting of a pyrimidine ring fused to an imidazole ring. ...

Cultivation

See also: List of asparagus diseases

Since asparagus often originates in maritime habitats, it thrives in soils that are too saline for normal weeds to grow in. Thus a little salt was traditionally used to suppress weeds in beds intended for asparagus; this has the disadvantage that the soil cannot be used for anything else. 'Crowns' are planted in winter, and the first shoots appear in spring; the first pickings or 'thinnings' are known as sprue asparagus. Sprue have thin stems.^[10] This article is a list of diseases of asparagus (Asparagus officinalis). ...

Green asparagus for sale in New York City.

White asparagus, known as spargel, is cultivated by denying the plants light and increasing the amount of ultraviolet light the plants are exposed to while they are being grown. Less bitter than the green variety, it is very popular in the Netherlands, France,Belgium and Germany where 57,000 tonnes (61% of consumer demands) are produced annually.^[11] New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Spargel is asparagus, however it is grown covered in soil in order to prevent photosynthesis. ...

Purple asparagus differs from its green and white counterparts, having high sugar and low fibre levels. Purple asparagus was originally developed in Italy and commercialised under the variety name Violetto d'Albenga. Since then, breeding work has continued in countries such as the United States and New Zealand.^{[verification needed]} For the meaning of fiber in nutrition, see dietary fiber. ...

Companion planting

Asparagus is a useful companion plant for tomatoes. The tomato plant repels the asparagus beetle, as do several other common companion plants of tomatoes, meanwhile asparagus may repel some harmful root nematodes that affect tomato plants[1]. Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is planting of different crops in close physical proximity. ...

Commercial production

Asparagus output in 2005 shown as a percentage of the top producer (China – 5,906,000 tonnes).
     100      10      1

As of 2007, Peru is the world's leading asparagus exporter, followed by China and Mexico.^[12] The top asparagus importers (2004) were the United States (92,405 tonnes), followed by the European Union (external trade) (18,565 tonnes), and Japan (17,148 tonnes).^[13] The United States' production for 2005 was on 218.5 km² (54,000 acres) and yielded 90,200 tonnes,^[14] making it the world's third largest producer, after China (5,906,000 tonnes) and Peru (206,030 tonnes).^[15] US production was concentrated in California, Michigan, and Washington.^[14] The crop is significant enough in California's Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta region that the city of Stockton holds a festival every year to celebrate it. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 351 pixelsFull resolution (1425 × 625 pixel, file size: 57 KB, MIME type: image/png)This bubble map shows the global distribution of asparagus output in 2005 as a percentage of the top producer (China - 5,906,000 tonnes). ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 351 pixelsFull resolution (1425 × 625 pixel, file size: 57 KB, MIME type: image/png)This bubble map shows the global distribution of asparagus output in 2005 as a percentage of the top producer (China - 5,906,000 tonnes). ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... For the capital city of the United States, see Washington, D.C.. For other uses, see Washington (disambiguation). ... The San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta. ... Nickname: Motto: Stocktons Great, Take A Look! Location in San Joaquin County and the state of California Coordinates: , Country State County San Joaquin Incorporated 1850 Government  - Mayor Edward J. Chavez  - City Manager J. Gordon Palmer, Jr. ...

Vernacular names and etymology

Asparagus in Mildura, Victoria, Australia

Asparagus officinalis is widely known simply as "asparagus", and may be confused with unrelated plant species also known as "asparagus", such as Ornithogalum pyrenaicum known as "Prussian asparagus" for its edible shoots. Mildura is a locality in northwestern Victoria, Australia. ... VIC redirects here. ... Binomial name Ornithogalum pyrenaicum L. Ornithogalum pyrenaicum, also called Prussian asparagus, Pyrenees star of Bethlehem or spiked star of Bethlehem, is a plant whose young shoots may be eaten as a vegetable, similar to asparagus. ...

The English word "asparagus" derives from classical Latin, but the plant was once known in English as sperage, from the Medieval Latin sparagus. This term itself derives from the Greek aspharagos or asparagos, and the Greek term originates from the Persian asparag, meaning "sprout" or "shoot". Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. ... Farsi redirects here. ...

Asparagus was also corrupted in some places to "sparrow grass"; indeed, the Oxford English Dictionary quotes John Walker as having written in 1791 that "Sparrow-grass is so general that asparagus has an air of stiffness and pedantry". In Gloucestershire and Worcestershire where arguably the best asparagus is grown it is also known simply as "grass". Another known colloquial variation of the term, most common in parts of Texas, is "aspar grass" or "asper grass". In the Midwest United States and Appalachia, "spar grass" is a common colloquialism. Asparagus is commonly known in fruit retail circles as "Sparrows Guts", etymologically distinct from the old term "sparrow grass", thus showing convergent language evolution.^{[citation needed]} John Walker, MD, DD Revd Dr John Walker (1730–1803) was Professor of Natural History at the University of Edinburgh from 1779 to 1803. ... Look up Colloquialism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Areas included within the Appalachian Regional Commissions charter. ... Look up Colloquialism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

It is known in French and Dutch as asperge, in Italian as asparago (old Italian asparagio), in Portuguese as espargo hortense, in Spanish as espárrago, in German as Spargel, in Hungarian as spárga. Spargel is asparagus, however it is grown covered in soil in order to prevent photosynthesis. ...

In a South Indian language, Kannada, it is known as Ashadhi, Majjigegadde or Sipariberuballi. “Kannada” redirects here. ...

Asparagus and urine

The effect of eating asparagus on one's urine has long been known. Marcel Proust claimed that asparagus "...transforms my chamber-pot into a flask of perfume." Certain constituents of asparagus are metabolized giving urine a distinctive smell due to various sulfur-containing degradation products, including various thiols, thioesters, and ammonia.^[16] Derivatives of asparagusic acid are also found in urine. The speed of onset of urine smell has been estimated to occur within 15-30 minutes of ingestion.^[17] All individuals produce the odorous compounds after eating asparagus, but only about 40% of the population have the autosomal genes required to smell them.^[18][19][20] Proust redirects here. ... Structure of the coenzyme adenosine triphosphate, a central intermediate in energy metabolism. ... This article is about the chemical element. ... Sulphydryl // In organic chemistry, a thiol is a compound that contains the functional group composed of a sulfur atom and a hydrogen atom (-SH). ... General structure of a thioester. ... Asparagusic acid Asparagusic acid is 1,2-dithiolane-4-carboxylic acid, S2(CH2)2CHCO2H. It is present in the vegetable asparagus and may be the metabolic precursor to other odorous thiol compounds. ... An autosome is a non-sex chromosome. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 159th day of the year (160th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census) is a part of the United States Department of Commerce. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... is the 226th day of the year (227th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 111th day of the year (112th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Asparagus officinalis

Wikibooks Cookbook has an article on

Asparagus

• Los Angeles' Most Expensive Asparagus
• PROTAbase on Asparagus officinalis
• Asparagus officinalis - Plants for a Future database entry
• World Asparagus Situation and OutlookPDF (55.0 KiB) - 2005 USDA report
• Asparagus Production Management and Marketing - commercial growing (OSU bulletin)
• The Stockton Asparagus Festival - held annually every April in Stockton, California
• Growing Asparagus Guide to growing Asparagus