- Scientific Name: Asparagus cochinchinensis (Lour.) Merr.
- Ref: Philipp. J. Sci. 15:230. 1919
- Synonyms: Asparagopsis sinica Miq.; Asparagus cochinchinensis f. pygmaeus (Makino) Yamashita & M.N.Tamura; A. falcatus Thunb.; A. gaudichaudianus Kunth; A. insularis Hance; A. lucidus Lindl.; A. lucidus var. pygmaeus Makino; A. sinicus (Miq.) C.H.Wright; Melanthium cochinchinense Lour.
- English Common Name: Chinese asparagus
- Chinese Common Name: 天门冬 tiānméndōng
- Japanese Common Name: クサスギカズラ [草杉蔓] kusasugikazura
- Family: Asparagaceae
- Genus: Asparagus
- Distribution: Thinly forested slopes, roadsides, waste fields; near sea level to 1700 m. Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Japan, Korea, Laos, Vietnam].
- Photo: 06/21/2009, South China Botanical Garden, Guangdong
Herbs dioecious. Roots with swollen, tuberous part 3--5 × 1--2 cm. Stems climbing, 1--2 m, slightly woody proximally; branches angled or narrowly winged. Cladodes usually in fascicles of 3, subfalcate, 0.5--8 cm × 1--2 mm, flat or slightly 3-angled. Leaf spur sometimes spinescent; spine 2.5--3.5 mm on main stems, minute or indistinct on branches. Inflorescences developing after cladodes, axillary. Flowers of both sexes usually paired, subequal; pedicel 2--6 mm, articulate at middle. Male flowers: perianth greenish, campanulate, 2.5--3 mm; filaments free. Berry green, 6--7 mm in diam., 1- or 2-seeded. Fl. May--Jun, fr. Sep. 2 n = 20*. (Flora of China)
