It is called the asparagus plant or the booth of the sun. Asparagus has been known since ancient times, as it was engraved on the temples of the ancient Egyptians and is found in Europe, Asia, the Mediterranean basin, and the British Isles. It grows wild in some regions of Russia.

The English name for it is Asparagus, which belongs to the Liliaceae family, and the Latin name is asparagus officinalis. It is a perennial herbaceous plant that remains on the farm for about 15-20 years, but it is preferable to renew the farm every 10 years to maintain the quality of the resulting crop.

One of the advantages of asparagus plants is that they tolerate soil salinity, are very tolerant of the increase of boron in soil and water, and bear many diseases, as they are not sensitive to disease. 

This gives it a significant comparative advantage in expanding its cultivation on newly reclaimed lands. It is one of the few crops with promising export markets and can be focused on. The asparagus crop is characterized by its high nutritional and medicinal value:

From a nutritional point of view:

It is rich in folic acid, vitamin C, amino acids, niacin, vitamins A, B1, and B2, and a small percentage of potassium, phosphorous, and iron. It is characterized by low calories and low sodium and is a good source of dietary fiber.

From a medical point of view:

It contains rutin, which helps prevent bleeding and is a diuretic. This is good for patients with high blood pressure because it contains asparagine, a diuretic that removes salts from the body and helps produce red blood cells. It also reduces menstrual pain in women. It improves milk production in nursing mothers and increases women's fertility. For men, it is a tonic for sexual ability. 

It contains natural male hormones. It can also treat urinary tract infections and act as a liver tonic. Natural fibers make it suitable for the colon and useful in diet programs. 

* Types of Asparagus in terms of consumption:-

There are two types of Asparagus: green and white. What is meant here is not the scientific type of plant but the color of the economic part used, which is the spur.

This is controlled by the method of agricultural treatments that are carried out on plants when producing spurs, where the spurs become white when the light is blocked from them before harvesting by heaping the soil around them or covering them, so they become white due to the blocking of light from them, or they become exposed to light naturally. Hence, the spurs become green in color for photosynthesis and formation. Chlorophyll is green in color. The two types do not differ in nutritional or medicinal value except for minor differences. Asparagus contains fewer bitter substances, vitamin C, and sugars than green asparagus.

* When buying asparagus, its specifications should be as follows: -

1- It should be fresh, as fresh is preferred over canned.

2- The spurs should be no less than 5-7 mm thick.

3- The legs (spurs) should be free of roughened fibers that are rough and easy to break.

4- The spurs' bases should be white, soft, and not woody; they should not be blackened.

5- The fusion of the buds and the upper scales of the spurs and not opening them

6- The spur length should be at most 15-20 cm.

7- In the case of bleached species, they should be bright white, and greenish ones should be shiny green, not yellowish.

8- It should be fresh, not withered, and without wrinkles for consumption.

As for consumption:

1- It can be consumed fresh as it is, after washing it well, cut with fresh salads, or eaten as it is.

2- A unique (soup) can be made from it alone or by cutting it with celery. It can be added to the famous vegetable soup (carrots, zucchini, green beans, and potato cubes) to increase its nutritional and medical value.

3- It can be cooked lightly by steam and cut into cubes or left with a bit of lemon and olive oil and served with cold or grilled meat dishes or with cut cubes of cheese on it with parsley.

4- It can be fried in corn oil with vinegar and served after being filtered well from the oil.

5- It is added to the pizza ingredients following the mushroom "mushroom" to add a high nutritional value to the pizza.

6- It can be squeezed fresh and drunk after filtering, as it tastes delicious and practical.