Horrid Asparagus

This is the plant from which I got the most scratches and stabbings while rambling about Nerja, Not as bad as Sarsaparilla but more abundant on the tracks. There are three species of wild asparagus (espárragos trigueros or espárragos silvestres) in the area: Asparagus acutifolius, A. albus and A. horridus. I am pretty sure that these photos are an individual of A. albus. The true leaves have transformed into thorns, in this case the cladodes (stems converted into leaf look-alikes) do not end in a spine and are held in bunches.

All of these wild asparagus provide  young shoots more prized than the cultivated asparagus. Cut before they develop thorns, obviously. The taste is very much like the cultivated asparagus but stronger. The roots are succulent and tender and juicy and very tasty too. They are not often collected except to dry for medicinal use. None of the plants I encountered were in flower or berry but several had new shoots coming up, like this one.

The shoot in front is out of focus but the less obvious one directly behind shows the classic asparagus shape.

Here the classic asparagus shoot on the left and an older but still purple and soft shoot on the right.

Can you spot the good bit?