Esparto

Common name for Asparagus Lowei, Liliacea-Asparagoidea widely cultivated in the gardens and estates of Madeira and which appears spontaneously in Porto do Moniz and between S. Jorge and Sant'Ana. It has woody and twining stems, fasciculated and setaceous cladodes, and white flowers, with articulated peduncles shorter than the cladodes. The fine-leaved esparto, widely cultivated in gardens, is the Asparagus plumosus, and near Gorgulho, the H. scoparius has been found, a beautiful plant almost extinct on the island.