Chinese Asparagus (Asparagus cochinchinensis)

Family: Asparagaceae | Edibility: Edible (3/5)

Asparagus cochinchinensis is a PERENNIAL growing to 1.5 m (5ft) by 1 m (3ft 3in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 7. It is in flower from May to June, and the seeds ripen in September. The species is dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). and is pollinated by Bees.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Fruit, Berries, Roots/Tubers

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

tastes like asparagus. — The tubers are up to 5cm long and 2m wide.; They are washed to remove the bitterness, the fibrous core is removed and the root is then boiled.; It tastes like asparagus.; Another report says that the tubers are eaten after preserving in sugar.

Habitat & North American Range

Near seashores all over Japan. Thinly forested slopes, roadsides and waste fields from near sea level to 1700 metres in China. (Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8, Zone 9)