ASPARAGUS

[as.par.a.gus] n, pl -gus [NL, genus name, fr. L, asparagus plant, fr. Gk asparagos; perh. akin to Gk spargan to swell] (1548): any of a genus (Asparagus) of Old World perennial plants of the lily family having much-branched stems, minute scalelike leaves, and narrow usu. filiform branchlets that function as leaves; esp: one (A. officinalis) widely cultivated for its edible young shoots