ASPARAGUS RACEMOSUS Willd.


Etymology:	Derived from Greek word asparasso, to rip, a sprout or shoot; referring to the edible shoots.
Botanical name	Asparagus racemosus Willd.
Local/Trade names:	Satawar, Sat Amuli
Conservation status:	Occur wild, also cultivated for its tubers.
Digonestic features:	Spiny climber with cladodes.
Description:	A much branched, scandent shrub with terete stem and triquetrous branches; spines 5-15 mm long, more or less recurved; cladodes 2-6 together, 1.3-2.5 cm long, narrowly subulate, falcate and divericate, channeled beneath. Racemes 2.5-5 cm long. Flowers white, 2-3 mm in diameter. Fruit berries, 6 mm in diameter.
Phenology:	Fls.: October-November. Frts.: Cold season.
Distribution:	Throughout tropics and sub-tropical Himalaya.
Where to see it:	Medicinal plant garden.
Uses:	Herb tonic, diuretic, and galactagogue. Fresh root juice is mixed with honey and given for dyspepsia. Roots form a constituent of medicinal oils used for nervous and rheumatic complaints.

Chandigarh Forests