Asparagus africanus.
Family Asparagaceae.
The Orange fruited climbing asparagus is a weed in S. E. Queensland and common around Brisbane.
It can grow as a scrambling shrub up to 1 m high or a climber with twining stems up to 12 metres long.
It can form dense masses that smother other vegetation.
The underground crown consists of dense fibrous roots but no tubers.
The slender stems have many short side branches.
Young branches are green and older ones become woody.
There are often curved, reddish-brown spines 1 to 2 cm long.
The true leaves, in spirals, are reduced to small scales.
In the leaf axils are clusters of 7 to 12 cladodes.
In cross section they are flattened or slightly triangular.
They are 5 to 15 mm long and around 0.5 mm wide with a pointed tip.
Axillary inflorescences are small clusters of up to 6 cream, white or greenish flowers.
On stalks around 5 – 10 mm long they have 6 spreading tepals in 2 whorls.
Bisexual flowers around 6 mm across have 6 stamens and a superior ovary with a 1 mm style.
Fruit are 5 mm berries that ripen from green to reddish then bright orange.
Each has 1 (2) round, black seed/s.
J.F.
