Asperge épineuse

Whilst known to be collected in the wild, it is unknown if collection is extensive and therefore poses a major threat to the species. Molina et al. (2012) suggest that this threat may be more prominent for subpopulations occurring in open habitats (as ease of observation and collection could promote overharvesting) as well as for those where harvesting practices promote removal of the lower, photosynthetic part of the plant (such as cutting plants with a sickle) as opposed to more sustainable practices (for example, plants being cut above ground level can continue to grow through lateral buds of the lower part of the stem and hence complete their reproductive cycle).

This species is present in several protected areas (IUCN and UNEP-WCMC 2017). The genus Asparagus is listed in Annex I of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (FAO 2009).

Six germplasm accessions of this taxon are held in European genebanks, five of which are reported to be of wild or weedy origin. All of the wild accessions originate from within Europe, four from Spain and one from Italy (EURISCO 2015). According to Botanical Garden Conservation International (BCGI 2013) this species has living collections in 31 botanical gardens worldwide, although origin and location of collection are not detailed in this resource as garden locations are undisclosed to protect rare and valuable plant species.

This species is not recorded in the Svalbard Seed Vault (SGSV Data Portal 2013) and so germplasm collection and duplicated ex situ storage is a priority for this species to ensure that material is available for future potential use in crop improvement programs. Further research is needed to gather information about the potential threats to this species. Also, investigation of current size and trends of North African subpopulations is recommended.