Asparagus gibbus Bunge; A. tuberculatus Bunge ex Iljin.

Herbs dioecious. Roots slender. Stems erect, 30--70 cm, unarmed, striate; branches striate, younger ones cartilaginous denticulate. Cladodes in fascicles of 1--6, usually spreading upward at an acute angle, 1--4(--5) cm × ca. 0.6 mm, subterete, slightly flattened, irregularly grooved, rather soft, sometimes cartilaginous denticulate. Leaf spur short, not spinescent. Inflorescences developing after cladodes. Flowers of both sexes paired. Male flowers: pedicel 3--5 mm; perianth yellowish green, ca. 4 mm; filaments adnate to perianth segments for ca. 4/5 their length. Female flowers: pedicel ca. 2 mm; perianth ca. 1.5 mm. Berry 6--7 mm in diam., 2--4(--6)-seeded. Fl. May--Jun, fr. Aug--Sep.

Sandy wastelands, arid slopes; near sea level to 2200 m. Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi [Korea, Mongolia, Russia (Far East, Siberia)].