Asparagus retrofractus spines and stems

Short, thickish spines, hard and unyielding, curve down slightly on older Asparagus retrofractus stems below branchings.

The cylindrical stems become woody, whitish grey and smooth. Scattered, small, darker patches are present on some parts. Older stems are sometimes longitudinally ridged.

The cladodes (leaves) are straight and needle-like (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015).