Asparagus asparagoides

Asparagus asparagoides, the bridal creeper or in Afrikaans breëblaarklimop (broad-leaf climber), is a branched climber that may exceed 2 m in height. There are no spines on the stems of this Asparagus. The plant is rhizomatous, bearing tubers of about 6 cm long and 2 cm wide.

The "leaves", the cladodes, also called phylloclades, are not real leaves, but flattened stems resembling leaves. They are spaced and alternate on the stems that change direction at each node in zigzag fashion. The “leaf” shape is narrowly ovate. The margins may curve up to varying degrees. The surface is glossy green above. The cladode measure are about 4 cm long and 2 cm wide.

The pendent white flowers have six spreading to recurving corolla lobes, oblong in shape. A dense, erect column of stamens comprised of white filaments and orange anthers is conspicuous in the flower centre.

The species distribution is widespread across southern and eastern Africa, growing naturally in all nine South African provinces.It is only absent from the central part of the country, the east of the Northern Cape, the west of North West and the Free State. The plants are found in forests and thickets from the coast to elevations around 2450 m. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

It has unfortunately been introduced as a garden plant in Australia and New Zealand where its invasive capabilities were soon discovered and not resolved. These capabilities essentially relate to the spreading and growth potential of a species in the absence of natural enemies or environmental constraints.

This plant is also naturalised in California and maybe elsewhere, causing frustration and cognitve dissonance over botanical xenophobia (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; Pooley, 1998; Wikipedia; iSpot; http://redlist.sanbi.org).