View photos of the edible and medicinal plant Asparagus officinalis (Asparagus), profiled in Medicinal Plants of the Western Mountain States and the Wild Edible Series: Colorado and Southern California.

A passage from Medicinal Plants of the Western Mountain States:

Used as a preventative for acidic conditions, Asparagus is best taken at the very first sign of a gout related flare–up (sensitive big toe, etc.).

A passage from Wild Edible Plants of Colorado:

A people–plant, it tends not to grow in the wilds, but rather around population centers. Look to field margins, grassy areas, road and trail  sides, and untended embankments.

A passage from Southern California Food Plants:

The shoots contain asparagusic acid, which some people after digesting, metabolize into methanethiol, dimethyl sulfide, and other sulfur–based compounds. These are responsible for the Asparagus–smelling urine noticeable after the plant’s consumption.