On the way back from a tea quest to Whole Foods this morning, we came across a handsome low evergreen shrub with stunning yellow-green plumes of leaves, hiding green berries and displaying ripened red berries. The larger scene:
(#1) SkinSpirit, the neighbor in back of my condo complex; crucial plant in bottom right corner
Close-ups of the foliage, green berries, and ripe red berries:
(#2)
(#3)
(#4)
I think it’s Asparagus densiflorus ‘Myersii’, but it might be A. aethiopicus (aka A. densiflorus ‘Sprengeri’). From Wikipedia:
Asparagus densiflorus (asparagus fern, plume asparagus, foxtail fern) is an evergreen perennial plant, closely related to the vegetable asparagus, and native to southern Africa from Mozambique to South Africa. A. densiflorus has been confused with A. aethiopicus, Sprenger’s asparagus, now regarded as a separate species, so that information under the name A. densiflorus will often refer to A. aethiopicus.
As it cannot tolerate frost, in temperate regions A. densiflorus is usually grown under glass. Numerous cultivars have been developed, of which the compact form ‘Myersii’ has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. Its dense 50 cm plumes of foliage are especially valued in flower arranging. (link)
Asparagus aethiopicus, Sprenger’s Asparagus, is a plant native to the Cape Provinces and the Northern Provinces of South Africa. Often used as an ornamental plant, it is considered an invasive weed in many locations.
… In the United States, it has been declared a weed in Hawaii, and Florida. It has also been declared a weed in New Zealand, and has become established around major urban areas in Australia including Sydney, Wollongong, the Central Coast, Southeastern Queensland, and Adelaide, as well as Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. (link)
Another Xmas plant with green leaves and red berries, to go along with taxus (yew), ilex (holly), nandina (heavenly bamboo), cotoneaster, photinia, and pyracantha (firethorn), all of which can be found within a mile of my house, most within a block.
But wait, there’s more! The low trees in #1 are California peppertrees. In the photo, from October, their pretty compound leaves are just starting to turn red for fall. By now, the leaves have gone bright pinkish-red and fallen, while the clusters of berries have turned from green to dark red. Yet another Xmas plant.
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