The plant is a climber growing to 1-2 m in length. The leaves are like pine-needles, small and uniform. The inflorescence has tiny white flowers, in small spikes. The roots are finger-like,and clustered. Chemically, the variants from the southern part of India differed from the ones obtained from northern India, in having the A, fraction of the Asparagus glycosides.
Mucilage is also present in roots.
It was attributed to the action of released corticosteroids or an increase in prolactin. In a recent study by Sharma et al. Shatavari was shown to possess anabolic properties viz. The plant has been used in ayurveda for various conditions. Bhavmishra mentions this use particularly.