ASPARAGUS

(Lat.), n. m. ®r)'a3-gu>s(gu*s). Gr., domépayos, äopépayos. Fr., asperge [Fr. Cod.]. Ger., Spargel, It., asparayo, sparagio. Sp., esparrago. ‘1. Anciently, any shoot or sprout [Pliny (A, 318)], and used in this sense as a botanical descriptive name by the earlier botanists. [B, 198.] 2. A genus of Faeries liliaceous herbs of the tribe Asphodeleæ, established by innæus, The flower has a 6-parted perianth, 6 yhous straight stamens, a very short style, and 3 stigmas; the fruit is a berry containing 3 cells, each cell containing 2 seeds; the leaves are very narrow. [B.] 3, The A. officinal is (q. v.). [B.]—A. acutifolius [Linnœus]. Fr., asperge sauvage, espargon sauvage, Syn.: C rud a. A species growing in southern Europe resembling in appeayance and properties À. officinal is, The young shoots are eaten, and the rhizome and fruit (radix et semen corrudæ) are used like those of A. officinal is, It is said to contain more asparagine and to act more powerfully as a medicinal agent than the latter. [B, 173, 180; L, 120.]—A. alb us [Linnæus]. Fr., asperge blanche. A ‘shrubby, trailing species indigenous to the East, but growing in Spain an Portugal, where the young shoots are eaten. [B, 71, 173, 180.]-—A. altilis. See A. officinal is—A. amarus [De gence, See A. scaber.—A. aphyllus [Linnæus]. A shrubby species indigenous to the East. It has the same properties and uses as A. officinal is. [B, 173.J—A, ascendens. A species the root of which (sufedmush) is used in India as a substitute for salep. [B,172.]—A. bean, The Dolichos sesquipedal is. [B, 191A. corruda [Scopoli]. See A. acutifolius.—A. ecrispus. Of Lamarck, a species growing at the Cape of Good Hope. 2 Of Bojer, the À. umbellulatus. [B, 192.]—A. draco [Linnæus]. See DRACÆNA draco.—A. falcatus [Linnwus An herbaceous species gm\vù(;ä in China and the Fast ndies. ‚e root is used in China as an anodyne and antisyphilitic. [B, 71, 180; L, 75.]—A. juice. See Suc de pointe d'ASPERGE.—A. officinal is [Linnæus].” Gr., dexépayos [Dioscorides]. Fr., asperge, asperge of ficin ale. Ger., gebräuchlicher Spargel. Ordinary garden a.. a perennial herbaceous "lant indigenous to Europe and cultivated both there and in America. It is from 2 to 4 feet high, bearing filiform leaves, axillary flowers, and globose red berries. The young shoots (Lat., turiones) are used as food, and, together with the stalks and the rhizome, are official in the Fr, Co.. the Belg. Ph., and the Swi Ph. The berries and seeds were also formerly em: ployed in medicine. The juice contains asparagine. [B, 5, 180.] he plant is used as a diuretic, and imparts a peculiar disagreeable odor to the urine. [A, 319.]—A. petraea, A. petræus. See A. a cut i folia.—A. phyllacanthos [Lamarck]. See A. ephillus.—A. racemosus [Willdenow]. A climbing shrub with slender terete woody stems, bearing dense racemes of white flowers with small globose red anthers. It is found in N, Australia and throughout the Pacific islands. Its tubers are employed for the same purposes. as salep. Boiled in milk, they are used in hilious disorders. The bark is considered poisonous. The leaves, boiled and mixed with ghee, are applied to promote suppuration. [B, 172, 192; L, 65.]— | scandent herbaceous species in- | digenous to the Caucasus. [B, 71.} } ing A. sar mentos us [Willdenow]. An East Indian climbing species, used for the same purposes as salep. An infusion of the root (the sufed-mush of southern India) is used to prevent small-pox pustules from becoming confiuent.