Asparagus filicinus D. Don var. lycopodineus Baker, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 14: 605. 1875; A. lycopodineus var. sessilis F. T. Wang & T. Tang.

Herbs dioecious. Roots usually with swollen, tuberous part 1.5--3.5 cm × 5--8 mm. Stems erect, 45--100 cm, unarmed, smooth or slightly striate, sometimes narrowly winged distally; branches narrowly winged. Cladodes in fascicles of 3, linear, falcate, (2--)5--12 × 1--3 mm, flat, midvein distinct. Leaf spur short. Inflorescences developing after cladodes. Flowers of both sexes solitary or in clusters of 2--4; pedicel 1--1.5 mm or less. Male flowers: perianth white, campanulate, 3--4 mm; stamens unequal; filaments adnate to perianth segments for ca. 1/4 their length. Female flowers: perianth ca. 2 mm. Berry 5--6 mm in diam., 2- or 3-seeded. Fl. May--Jun, fr. Jul--Aug.

Forests, thickets; 500--2600 m. Gansu, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan [Bhutan, India, Myanmar].