Bath asparagus, otherwise know as spiked star-of Bethlehem from the flower shape, is a nationally rare plant found, as the name suggests, most commonly in the Bath area. And we have some! There is a fine display on the wide Road Hill verge on the way to Ditteridge. It can take up to 5 years to mature from seed to flowering so let’s hope it is left to set seed before verge cutting.
The consensus seems to be that it is a native plant with an odd patchy distribution resulting from the seeds being heavy so not prone to travelling far. Other intriguing theories are that it arrived via the earth balls of Roman vines.
In times past, the young unopened flower stalks were sold in Bath markets to be cooked like asparagus (the bulbs are mildly toxic). The Plant Lore website recalls an early 1970s memory of Bath asparagus being sold in season in a London Rd greengrocer. The shop was owned by a couple who lived near an Atworth Wood where Bath Asparagus would grow as profusely as bluebells.
It has no medicinal value but is loved by our bumblebees.