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NAME: Asparagus

SPECIES / FAMILY:  Asparagus Officinalis / Asparagaceae

OTHER COMMON NAME(S): 

CONDITIONS: sun, sandy soil, riverbank
 

PARTS:	EDIBLE	TASTE	RAW/COOK	SEASON
All
Shoots	young	asparagus	RAW/COOK	Spring
Leaves
Stalk/Stem
Buds
Flowers
Fruits
Pods
Seeds		coffee sub	ROAST
Nuts
Roots
Bark

 

PORTION: medium

 

COMMENT: Male plants produce the best shoots. Do not over-harvest the plant because this would weaken it in the following year. Roasted seeds are a coffee substitute.(1)

 

CAUTION: Large quantities of the shoots can irritate the kidneys. The berries are mildly poisonous.(1) Not explicitly wild, but a cultivar that has naturalized across the country.(3)

 

NUTRITION/MEDICINAL:  The shoots are a good source of protein and dietary fibre.(1)

• https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-286/asparagus 
• https://draxe.com/asparagus-nutrition

 

LOOK-A-LIKES:  

 

POISONOUS LOOK-A-LIKES: Baptisia - http://foragerchef.com/baptisia-a-wild-asparagus-look-alike/

 

OTHER USES: https://www.pfaf.org/user/OtherUses.aspx

 

SOURCE LINKS (may include nutritional and medicinal info, plus other uses):

1. https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Asparagus+officinalis
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asparagus
3. https://honest-food.net/foraging-finding-wild-asparagus
4. http://wholefedhomestead.com/how-to-hunt-and-forage-for-wild-asparagus
5. https://dengarden.com/gardening/How-to-plant-wild-asparagus