[Wikipedia] Origin, Etymology: Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus Asparagus native to Eurasia. Widely cultivated as a vegetable crop, its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. The English word asparagus derives from classical Latin but the plant was once known in English as sperage, from the Medieval Latin sparagus.[Note 1] This term itself derives from the Greek aspharagos or asparagos, but the Greek terms are of uncertain provenance: the latter form admits the possibility of a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to jerk, scatter," directly or via a Persian descendant meaning "twig, branch"; but the Ancient Greek word itself, meaning "gully, chasm," seems to be of Pre-Greek origin instead. (contributed by Mary Ann Machi)