Asparagus retrofractus

Asparagus retrofractus, commonly known as the Ming asparagus fern, in Afrikaans as the katdoring (cat thorn) and previously scientifically as Protasparagus retrofractus, is a scrambling shrub up to 2 m tall, growing dense green tufts of thin leaves (cladophylls). A cladophyll is a photosynthetic stem or branch that resembles a leaf and functions as one. Asparagus “leaves” are thus really cladophylls, also called cladodes.

In A. retrofractus the spaced leaf tufts may comprise more than twenty thin, shiny, smooth, green leaves of roughly equal length in a tuft. "Leaf" length differs from 1 to 3 cm on these plants over its large geographic distribution.

The leaf tufts emerge from nodes on side branches. These side branches have sharp spines where they join the bigger stems. This is not seen in the photo of new growth, as the spines grow on older stems.

The species distribution is in the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape, the Northern Cape and North West, commonly found in the Karoo, Little Karoo and Namaqualand; also in Namibia. This photo was taken next to the Magalies River in Gauteng close to the North West border, but an unexpected location for the species.

The habitat is sandy soil among varied scrub vegetation. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Curtis-Scott, et al, 2020; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; iNaturalist; www.smgrowers.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).