龙须菜 long xu cai

Asparagus schoberioides var. subsetaceus Franchet; A. sieboldii Maximowicz.

Herbs dioecious. Roots 2--3 mm thick, slender. Stems erect, to 1 m, unarmed, distinctly striate-ridged distally; branches angled or sometimes narrowly winged. Cladodes usually in fascicles of 3 or 4, linear, falcate, 1--4 cm × ca. 1 mm, flat, basally 3-angled, midvein distinct. Leaf spur short. Inflorescences developing after cladodes, axillary. Flowers of both sexes in clusters of 2--4, subequal; pedicel ca. 1 mm or less. Male flowers: perianth yellowish green, campanulate, 2--2.5 mm; filaments free. Berry red, ca. 6 mm in diam., usually 1- or 2-seeded. Fl. May--Jun, fr. Aug--Sep. 2 n = 20*.

Forests, grassy slopes; 400--2300 m. Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Jilin, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi [Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia (Far East, Kurile Islands, Sakhalin, Siberia)].