Amateur Gardening – 21 May 2019

Crossword

Asparagus

derivation

ACROSS

1 Thesubjectof thisweek’s

Miscellany! (9)

7 Areaequalto4,840sqyd

or43,560sqft, usedfor

measuringgeographical

featuressuchaslandand

bodiesof water(4)

8 Maidenhair,pocket

handkerchiefandoak

arealltypesof this!(4)

9 Stateof matter

differentfromthesolid

andliquidstates,asfound

inthefloweringplant

agastache!(3)

11 Cribfoundin

cotoneaster,apricotand

Scot’spine!(3)

12 Typeof crisplettuce

of narrowhabit(3)

13 ThisArcticdeeris

honouredbythecommon

nameforArtemisiatilesii

--_______sage!(7)

14 Fraxinusafterthe

bonfire,perhaps!(3)

15 Threequartersof a leek

is out of the wind... (3)

16 ...andbackwardsa

typeof fish!(3)

18 The9 downgenus(4)

19 A cultivarorthreeof

fuchsia!(4)

20 WI?Anadder?It’sallin

thepost-1901 era! (9) (anag)

DOWN

2 Cleavers(Galiumaparine)

isalsoknownasthis(7,4)

3 Latinnameforrue(4)

4 Thebladderwortgenus

of aquaticandmoist-soil

plants(11)

5 Genusnameof the

sugarcane(9)

6 Beardtongueis the

commonname,but

gardenersprobablyknow

it betterasthis(9)(anag)

9 Commonnameforthe

18 acrossgenus!(5)

10 A fanpalmgenus,which

includesthepalmettos(5)

17 Lathyruslatifoliusis

oftenreferredtoasthe

____lasting sweet pea (4)

There’s a wee smell!

WHYdosomepeople,aftereatin
asparagus,noticethattheirwee
smellsof it?Asparaguscontains
a sulphurouscompoundcalled
methanethiol,whichis also
foundin rotteneggs,onionsand
garlic.Whenyourdigestive
systembreaksdown
methanethiol,by-productsare
releasedthatcausethestrange
smell.Theprocessis soquicktha
urinecandevelopthedistinctivesmellin 15-30minutes.
Notallpeoplehavethegenefortheenzymethatbreaks
downmethanethiolintoitsmorepungentparts.
In 1731,ScottishmathematiciananddoctorJohn
Arbuthnotwrotethatasparagusgivesurine“afoetid
smell”.Ontheotherhand,FrenchnovelistMarcelProust
saidit hadtheeffectof transforminghis“humble chamber
pot into a bower of aromatic perfume!”

CROSSWORDABOVETO ANSWERS

Lee 15 Ash 14 Caribou 13 Cos 12 11 Cot9 Gas8 Tree7 Acre 1 AsparagusACROSS

Edwardian 20 Trio 19 Ulex 18 Eel 16

weed 3 Ruta 4 Utricularia 5 Saccharum 6 Penstemon 9 Gorse 2 ScratchDOWN

10 Sabal 17 Ever

Wow! I didn’t know that...

Asparagusis a memberof thelilyfamily.
AccordingtoGuinnessWorldRecords,thelongest
asparagusfern(adultplantwithinediblestems)measured
138.5in(351.7cm)whenit wasshownbyCanadiansHarry
andCarsonWillemseat thePort Elgin Pumpkinfest,
Ontario,Canadain 2004.
HelmutZipner(pictured),a che
fromKielin northernGermany,
reportedlyoncepeeleda fullton
of asparagusin 16hours,at an
AsparagusFestivalheldin
Berlin.Thisrecordearnedhim
thenicknameSpargel-Tarzan
(AsparagusTarzan).
It is saidthatwhiteasparagus
makesa goodhangovercure–
particularlyif youserveit witha
Hollandaise sauce and mashed potato!

11 MAY 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 47

KEYWORDTOWORDSEARCH 461 (AG6 APRIL):

BUTTERHEAD

ANDTHEWINNERIS:MR TERRY MURPHY, SEAFORD,

EAST SUSSEX

CURIOUSLY,thename
‘asparagus’comesfroma
Greekwordmeaning‘sprout’.
Well,it’sa littlemorecomplex
thanthat.Asparaguswas
referredtoin Britainasfarback
asthe1500s,andwasknownas
‘aspergy’,fromtheLatin‘asparagus’,which
in turncamefromtheGreek‘asparagos’,whichis thought
tomean‘tospringup’.If youthinkabout it, this is what
asparagus spears do in spring!

(^1234)
5 6
7 8
10
11 12
9
13
(^1415)
16 17
(^1819)
20