Asparagus prostratus
Ecology and Distribution
Wild Asparagus grows on coastal dunes and cliffs of Britain and Western Europe including Ireland, the Channel Islands, Northern Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and north-west Germany. In the UK it is found mostly in Dorset, Cornwall, Glamorgan and Pembrokeshire. This plant mainly occurs within a few hundred metres of the sea in open, grassy vegetation, more rarely in gorse scrub. It occurs on sea cliffs, occasionally on sand dunes and is rarely found on shingle.
Threats
Erosion of cliff-top habitats due to trampling by visitors is especially a problem at one Welsh site. Lack of grazing, which leads to dense grass becoming dominant, is apparent at two Welsh sites. There are separate male and female plants which are insect pollinated, and when populations become too small with only one sex present, or too scattered this limits pollination and therefore population growth and spread may also be limited. Cornish populations are being threatened by the invasion of Hottentot fig Carpobrotus edulis which outcompetes the asparagus.
Current Work
- The National Museums and Galleries of Wales and Trinity College Dublin are currently investigating the genetic variation within the species, and have found that Asparagus prostratus and A. officinalis are distinct species.
- Population surveys have been carried out recently on all British sites and further work categorising the vegetation and status in other European countries is under way.
- Research is underway on the reproductive biology of asparagus. Small populations might be susceptible to genetic deterioration and might therefore benefit from cross-pollination between populations. Planned conservation work for this species will include a one day ‘pollinators workshop’.
Contacts
- Lucy Cordrey - Nature Conservation Technician, the National Trust, Swindon
- Andy Jones, CCW, Aberystwyth
- Dr. Tim Rich, National Museums and Galleries of Wales, Cardiff
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