Asparagus setaceus
Common asparagus fern
(c) alessandradalia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by alessandradalia · licence
Family: Asparagaceae · Type: Vine · Not Native
Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes
Asparagus setaceus (Common asparagus fern) is a non-native California vine in the Asparagaceae family, recognized by purple-black fruit and terminal umbels.
Common asparagus fern is a naturalized perennial found in southern California coastal urban canyons in San Diego at elevations below 100 meters. Flowering from April to September, this plant produces small, delicate white flowers in terminal umbels with 1 to 4 nodding blooms. Growing as a climbing or sprawling woody vine with wiry stems up to 4 meters long, it develops fine, thin branchlets less than 1 millimeter wide. Its distinctive foliage features spurred leaf structures approximately 4 to 10 millimeters long, creating a feathery, intricate appearance. The plant produces distinctive purple-black fruits 4 to 5 millimeters in size, which develop after flowering.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 3 sympatric species; purple-black fruit and terminal umbels are diagnostic
Habitat and range
Habitat: Disturbed places (sites of former gardens)
Elevation: < 100 m
California counties: San Diego, Ventura
Outside California: Florida, native to southern Africa
Bloom period
Asparagus setaceus blooms Apr-Sep.
Conservation status
Cal-IPC Yes
How to tell it apart
vs Ruscus: Both flower on green modified stems, but Ruscus cladodes are broad, rigid and leaf-like with flowers borne on their surface; Asparagus cladodes are needle-like to thread-fine and clustered, with flowers in axillary racemes.; vs ferns: Asparagus 'fern' foliage is made of green cladodes and the plant flowers and sets red berries; true ferns never flower, reproducing by spores under the frond.; vs Muehlenbeckia: Asparagus has clustered needle cladodes and red berries; Muehlenbeckia (wireweed) is a wiry vine with small rounded true leaves and a papery ocrea at the nodes.; vs Ephedra: Asparagus is a soft green sprawler with cladodes and berries; Ephedra (Mormon tea) is a rigid jointed desert shrub with opposite scale-leaves and cones.; vs Smilax: Asparagus has soft needle-like cladodes and no tendrils; Smilax (greenbrier) has broad net-veined true leaves and paired tendrils, often on prickly stems.
Frequently asked questions
Is Asparagus setaceus native to California?
No. Asparagus setaceus is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Asparagus setaceus bloom?
Asparagus setaceus blooms Apr-Sep.
Where in California does Asparagus setaceus grow?
Asparagus setaceus occurs in San Diego, Ventura, at elevations of < 100 m.
What plant family does Asparagus setaceus belong to?
Asparagus setaceus is in the Asparagaceae family, genus Asparagus.
Is Asparagus setaceus invasive in California?
Asparagus setaceus is listed by Cal-IPC with an invasiveness rating of Yes.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.