Asparagus capensis

Asparagus capensis is a dense, spiny shrub growing many branched, woody stems to heights around 1 m.

Small, needle-like leaves occur in whorls along the stems. Several Asparagus species, including this one, are known as katdoring (cat thorn) in Afrikaans, referring to the painful experience its thorns may inflict. The flowers are small, creamy white and aromatic, appearing from autumn and winter.

This katdoring grows from Namibia to the Cape Peninsula and the Eastern Cape in coastal and varying inland conditions. There are two varieties, viz. var. capensis and var litoralis, the latter not found in the Eastern Cape.

The species habitat is diverse, including many vegetation types but absent from some moist fynbos areas. The plants often grow on rocky slopes. Neither variety is considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

This plant is said to be one of Jan van Riebeeck’s first local vegetables at the Cape’s East India Company Garden. Some people still harvest young shoots from this and other indigenous Asparagus species as food similar to the common edible species, A. officinalis (Shearing and Van Heerden, 2008; Van Wyk and Gericke, 2000; http://redlist.sanbi.org).