Basella alba

Basella alba subsp. var.	Malabar spinach, Ceylon spinach, climbing/vine spinach
	Habit: vine-climber Height: ⇕ to Width: ⇔ to 3m Height: ⇕ warning.png"" cannot be used as a page name in this wiki. to 3 m Width: ⇔ warning.png"" cannot be used as a page name in this wiki. to warning.png"" cannot be used as a page name in this wiki. Lifespan: ⌛ perennial Origin: ✈ Poisonous: ☠ Bloom: ❀	Exposure: ☼ sun Water: ◍ Features: ✓ edible Hidden fields, interally pass variables to right place Minimum Temp: ☃ °Fwarning.png"°F" is not a number. USDA Zones: 10 to 12 Sunset Zones: Flower features: ❀
	Basellaceae > Basella alba var. , If this plant info box on watering; zones; height; etc. is mostly empty you can click on the edit tab and fill in the blanks!

Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Basella rubra, Linn. Lvs. succulent, alternate, rarely opposite, almost entire, of various forms: fls. not pedi- celled, in simple spikes or racemes; spikes short or long, lax, few-fld. Lam. Ill., pl. 215, fig. 1. Rheede, Hort. Mal. 7, pl. 24.—The following species are now considered only forms of the above: B. alba, a white-fld. form rarely cult, as a trailer from roofs of warmhouses, or as a basket plant; B. caninifolia; B. cardifolia, with heart-shaped Lvs. 4-5 in. long and 2-2½ in. wide; B. crassifolia; B. japonica; B. lucida, from India; B. nigra, a Chinese form; B. ramosa and B. volubilis. Under the name of sweet malabar vine, a form with tiny yellow and red fls., and Lvs. variegated with white, pink, and green has been advertised. It is said that "with age it assumes a drooping habit. When cut, keeps fresh for weeks." The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Basella alba is a perennial vine originating in the tropics where it is widely used as a leaf vegetable^wp. It is in flower from May to September, and the seeds ripen from July to October[1].

Cultivation

Needs moist, well drained soil. Not picky about soil heaviness or acidity. Prefers high amounts of organic matter, but soil that is not too rich. Plant in sunny, sheltered spot. Give trellis or fence for it to climb[2].

Propagation

Do you have propagation info on this plant? Edit this section!

Pests and diseases

Do you have pest and disease info on this plant? Edit this section!

Varieties

• 'Eclipse' - Produces a very early crop in 55 - 60 days where warm. The compact plants can be planted close together. Leaves are thick and medium to deep green. Yields very well where it is warm and humid.
• 'Red' - Leaves, stems and flowers tinged red. Color is lost when cooked.

Gallery

If you have a photo of this plant, please upload it! Plus, there may be other photos available for you to add.

• 
• 

  photo 1

• 

  photo 2

• 

  photo 3

External links

• w:Basella alba. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Basella alba QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)