Asparagus
Parts Usually Used
Young shoots, seed, and root
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Asparagus is a perennial plant; the short, horizontal rootstock has long, thick roots and sends up the young shoots that we eat as vegetables. If allowed to mature, these become branched stems that reach 5 feet in height. What look like leaves on the stem and branches are actually filiform branches which are clustered in the axils of the scaly, inconspicuous leaves (actually branches functioning as leaves).
In May and June the plant bears small, solitary, pendulous, bell-shaped, greenish-white, seldom noticed, flowers. The fruit is a red berry, about 1/3 inch in diameter, containing black seeds and ripening in August.
Where Found
Generally cultivated for food but may be found growing wild around old garden sites and in waste places.
Medicinal Properties
Aperient, diaphoretic, diuretic, nutritive, demulcent
Biochemical Information
Asparagin, sucrose, starch, and mucilage, folic acid, steroidal glycosides
Legends, Myths and Stories
Asparagus is a highly regarded herb worldwide. Chinese pharmacists save the best roots of this plant for their families and friends in the belief that it will increase feelings of compassion and love. In India, asparagus is used to promote fertility, reduce menstrual cramping and increase milk production in nursing mothers. In the Western world, it has been touted as an aphrodisiac.
These customs and beliefs are not mere superstition: the root contains compounds called steroidal glycosides that directly affect hormone production and may very well influence emotions. High in folic acid, which is essential for production of new red blood cells. Eat the young shoots and seeds.
Uses
Historical herbalists utilized asparagus to stimulate kidney activity and promote urine production, though they advised against its use in cases of kidney inflammation. It was also employed to encourage bowel evacuation through its fibrous bulk. Traditional practitioners recommended the plant for conditions such as gout, dropsy, and rheumatism, while specifically cautioning against its application for podagra.
Herbal traditions valued the powdered seed for settling the stomach and alleviating nausea. In Japanese accounts, green asparagus was believed to assist in the conversion of proteins into amino acids. The roots were historically classified as having diuretic, laxative, and sweat-inducing properties, and Chinese sources recorded their use for lowering blood pressure.
How Sold
Supermarkets for vegetable tops Seed in powder form
Warning
May cause dermatitis. Do not use asparagus if diarrhea is present. Do not use if kidneys are inflamed, because it increases the rate of urinary production.
Bibliography
The Complete Medicinal Herbal , by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993 Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs , by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814) Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A.
, Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988.