Invasive Species Spotlight: Asparagus Fern

 Fluffy, green, and totally harmless-looking, asparagus fern (Asparagus aethiopicus) is often used as a groundcover or a container plant in gardens all over Florida. 

This spreading plant’s bright foliage and colorful red berries make a statement wherever it’s planted, and its shade tolerance makes it a popular garden choice. This lovely, lacy plant is also grown indoors and is known as virtually indestructible. You can over-or under-water it for weeks and it still won’t die! 

Asparagus fern in a garden
Yinan Chen, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Unfortunately, the same characteristics that make asparagus fern so well-loved by gardeners also make it extremely invasive in Florida’s natural areas. In fact, asparagus fern has been listed as a category I invasive species by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council, or FLEPPC. Category I invasive plant species are those that damage Florida’s ecosystems by displacing native plants, altering water flow and soil composition, and even changing ecosystem functions entirely (drying up wetlands, stopping prescribed fire from doing its job, etc.). Asparagus fern invades shady roadsides and oak hammocks, where it grows so thickly that it can kill native groundcover plants and prevent seeds from sprouting.

This species spreads quickly by seed and by underground rhizomes, and plants can grow to be 6 feet or more in diameter. Even in containers, asparagus fern should not be planted outdoors- its bright red, shiny berries are very attractive to birds, which can spread the seeds for miles. An asparagus fern in your neighborhood garden could be the cause of an invasive wild patch in a nature preserve nearby! This plant is also poisonous to both people and pets, so be sure to keep your animals away from it on walks. Asparagus ferns have extremely sharp spines along their stems, which can be a nasty surprise for a dog or cat (or an unsuspecting human)!

Asparagus fern with bright red berries
Harry Rose from South West Rocks, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

If you want to remove asparagus fern from your garden, but don’t know what to plant instead, have no fear! There are several native Florida plants that make great replacements. Coontie, a cycad native to Florida, grows into a handsome, bushy statement plant. Female coonties produce showy, bright-orange seed cones and can grow to be four feet across or even larger. The compact variety of Simpson’s stopper, a native shrub, stays relatively small and can be pruned into any shape. Its thick green foliage and bright orange and red berries make it a beautiful statement plant, filler, or hedge. Wild coffee is another great choice, producing bright red berries and attracting lots of pollinators to your yard. Its name is a little bit misleading – the berries have no caffeine, and the plant isn’t in the true coffee family – but this shiny-leafed native shrub is a great choice for any garden, and it's also tolerant of low-nutrient sandy soil. 

For more gardening ideas and information on native and Florida-friendly landscape plants, visit the University of Florida’s IFAS Gardening Solutions webpage. For more information about asparagus fern and other invasive plants in Florida, visit the IFAS Center for Invasive and Aquatic Plants webpage.

Full-grown coontie with fluffy foliage

Wild coffee showing bright berries