Eden News On a cliff edge
Prostrate asparagus (Asparagus prostratus) is a beautiful, low-growing plant found in some of the UK’s least accessible locations. Its fine feathery foliage is not always easily spotted among the rocky cliftop locations it inhabits, but when the female plants produce their autumn fruits, they are bright shiny red (and toxic to humans). One of the rarest plants in the UK, it is classed as Endangered and has an estimated population of around 1,300 across the entire British Isles. Since 2021, the National Wildflower
Centre at the Eden Project has been working in partnership with Natural England to increase the population on the Lizard Peninsula.
Photo: Robert Lowe 4
Prostrate asparagus can suffer from encroachment from Hottentot fig (Carpobrotus edulis) and smothering as well as overgrazing (it’s particularly attractive to cattle). There are many rare plants on the Lizard that need help, but Asparagus prostratus has an ace up its sleeve: it is also a crop wild relative. Crop wild relatives are wild plants that are related to the crops we grow and eat. As they live independently in the wild, away from cultivation, fertilisation and pest control, they are much hardier than our crop plants, with a wider range of genetic diversity. Conservationists are keeping a particularly close eye on crop wild relatives because their genes may be able to withstand the stresses
crops face from climate change, pests and pathogens. Seed was collected from wild
populations on the Lizard in 2021. The plants were then grown at Vounder Garden by people on our horticultural therapy programmes. This autumn the plants will be reintroduced to the Lizard to bolster isolated or dwindling populations. Although this work will help to ensure the plant’s survival, prostate asparagus is still incredibly vulnerable and should never be foraged. Fern Carroll-Smith
For more on the NWC's conservation work see p.23.
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