Status:

Description:
A scrambling plant with wiry stems, which tends to behave more as a groundcover, or climb a short distance into shrubs and small trees. It has small (5-15mm by about 1mm) narrow leaves arranged in clusters of three, and tiny white flowers followed by orange berries about 7mm across.

Preferred habitat and impacts:
Climbing asparagus tends to occur around towns, particularly near-coastal locations in moist shady gullies. It scrambles through the understorey and covers the ground, smothering other plants and competing for soil moisture with its dense root mat.

Dispersal
Seed is spread by birds. Dumping of rhizomes (wiry underground stems). The swollen underground tubers are not capable of sprouting.

Look-alikes
Other weedy asparagus "ferns" occur in the region, but are not climbers. Nor are they really ferns. The most common is Asparagus densiflorus, (formerly called Protasparagus aetiopicus) which has red fruits, and similarly small leaves.

Control
Dig small plants, being careful to remove all of the root system. Spray larger infestations, as this plant has a huge root system which it is impractical to remove. Plants can grow from tiny fragments of rhizome, so creating a lot of soil disturbance around an infestation is not a good idea. Alternatively, for small infestations, "crowning" the plants works well. This involves removing the growing point where the stems emerge from the rhizome, leaving tubers and roots behind. A sharp knife or secateurs can be used for this job, or a narrow post-hole digger for really large plants.
When spraying, selective herbicides give better results. Spray during winter or spring when the plants are actively growing. Repeat treatments will be needed.