Asparagus falcatus leaves

Asparagus falcatus merely looks like a fern, but is a flowering plant. The flowering plants on earth are younger botanically than the real ferns that have grown from spores since long before the earth had flowers.

That event, the appearance of first flowers, happened in the time of the dinosaurs, at least 140 million years ago, by the reckoning of some over 200 million years ago. The first festival to celebrate flowers came much later as far as people know. After all, people do not know much about how other species feast. Incidentally, the earliest flowering plant on earth that still exists is probably Amborella trichopoda, the oldest known petal-bearing plant.

A. falcatus is a popular indoor plant or at least likes shade, moisture and temperatures in the lower 20s centigrade (frost-free conditions). It may twine up to several meters where suitable support structures present themselves. The flowers are white and later there are attractive red berries containing black seeds. 

Mature plants develop sturdy meandering stems with sharp thorns, making it suitable for use in protective hedges. Underground the plant bears sweet potato-like tubers (www.plantzafrica.com).