Difference between revisions of "Basella alba"

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{{Taxobox
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{{SPlantbox
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| color = lightgreen
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|familia=Basellaceae
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| name = ''Basella alba''
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|genus=Basella
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| image = Basella alba-2.JPG
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|species=alba
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| image_width = 240px
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|common_name=Malabar spinach, Ceylon spinach, climbing/vine spinach
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| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
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|habit=vine-climber
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| divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]]
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|Max ht box=3
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| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
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|Max ht metric=m
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| ordo = [[Caryophyllales]]
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|lifespan=perennial
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| familia = [[Basellaceae]]
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|exposure=sun
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| genus = ''[[Basella]]''
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|features=edible
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| species = '''''B. alba'''''
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|Temp Metric=°F
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| binomial = ''Basella alba''
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|min_zone=10
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| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
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|max_zone=12
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|jumpin=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!
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|image=Basella alba-2.JPG
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|image_width=240
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|image_caption=Basella alba
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}}
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{{Inc|
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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."
 
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'''''Basella alba''''' is a [[perennial plant|perennial]] [[vine]] found in the tropics where it is widely used as a [[leaf vegetable]].
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'''''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[http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Basella+alba].
  
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==Description==
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==Cultivation==
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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[http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Basella+alba].
  
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''Basella alba'' is a fast-growing, soft-stemmed [[vine]], reaching 10 m in length.  Its thick, semi-[[succulent]], heart-shaped leaves have a mild flavour and mucilaginous texture. 
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===Propagation===
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{{edit-prop}}<!--- Type propagation info below this line, then delete this entire line -->
  
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==Uses==
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===Pests and diseases===
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{{edit-pests}}<!--- Type pest/disease info below this line, then delete this entire line -->
  
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===Food===
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==Varieties==
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The vegetable is used in [[Chinese cuisine]]. Its many names include flowing water vegetable (潺菜, Mandarin ''chāncài'', Cantonese ''saan choy'', ''shan tsoi''), fallen [[hollyhock]] (落葵 Mandarin ''luokui'', Cantonese ''lor kwai''), wood ear vegetable (木耳菜 ''muercai'') and emperor vegetable (帝王菜 ''diwangcai'').
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*'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.
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*'Red' - Leaves, stems and flowers tinged red. Color is lost when cooked.  
  
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In Africa, the mucilagenous cooked shoots are most commonly used.<ref name="prota">Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004) Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen.</ref>
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==Gallery==
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{{photo-sources}}<!-- remove this line if there are already 3 or more photos in the gallery  -->
  
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Although it is only distantly related to the vegetable [[spinach]], it is commonly known as Malabar-, Ceylon-, Indian-, East-Indian-, Surinam-, Chinese-, or Vietnamese spinach. It is also known as Malabar nightshade or Malabar climbing spinach, broad bologi, mồng tơi and buffalo spinach. Its Bengali names are 'pui saag' and 'bachhali' ([[Telugu language|Telugu]]).
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<gallery>
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Image:Basella alba-1.JPG|
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Typical of leaf vegetables, it is high in [[vitamin A]], [[vitamin C]], [[iron]], and [[calcium]]. It is low in calories by volume, and high in protein per calorie.  The succulent [[mucilage]] is a particularly rich source of [[soluble fiber]], thought to remove mucus and toxins from the body. The plant is also a rich source of chlorophyll.
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Image:Upload.png| photo 1
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Image:Upload.png| photo 2
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Among many other possibilities, Malabar spinach may be used to thicken [[soup]]s or [[stir frying|stir-fried]] with [[garlic]] and [[chile pepper]]s.
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Image:Upload.png| photo 3
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</gallery>
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[[Image:Basella alba-1.JPG|thumb]]
 
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
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{{Reflist}}
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<!--- xxxxx  *[[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]], by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963  -->
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<!--- xxxxx  *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381  -->
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== External links ==
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<!--- xxxxx  *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432  -->
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{{commons|Basella alba|Basella alba}}
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<!--- xxxxx  *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608  -->
  
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{{unimelb|Basella.html}}
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==External links==
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*[http://database.prota.org/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll?AC=QBE_QUERY&BU=http%3A%2F%2Fdatabase.prota.org%2Fsearch.htm&TN=PROTAB~1&QB0=AND&QF0=Species+Code&QI0=Basella+alba&RF=Webdisplay PROTAbase on ''Basella alba'']
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*{{wplink}}
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*[http://www.nre.vic.gov.au/trade/asiaveg/thes-09.htm Photo and multilingual synonyms]
 
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*[http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MV138 University of Florida Agricultural Extension]
 
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*[http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1999/v4-388.html#basellaceae Evaluation of tropical leaf vegetables in the Virgin Islands]
 
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*[http://www.worldcrops.org/crops/Malabar-Spinach.cfm Malabar Spinach ''Basella alba'', ''B. ruba''] (WorldCrops)
 
  
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[[Category:Caryophyllales]]
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__NOTOC__
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[[Category:Leaf vegetables]]
 

Latest revision as of 22:41, 2 February 2010


Basella alba


Plant Characteristics
Habit   vine-climber

Height: ⇕ 3 m"m" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 3.
Lifespan: ⌛ perennial
Cultivation
Exposure: ☼ sun
Features: ✓ edible
USDA Zones: 10 to 12
Scientific Names

Basellaceae >

Basella >

alba >


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!



Read about Basella alba in the 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 vegetablewp. 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.

  • Basella alba-1.JPG

  • photo 1

  • photo 2

  • photo 3

References

External links


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