Basella alba L.

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Photo: Bart Wursten
Umunthu Camp, Mzuzu

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Synonyms:	Basella cordifolia Lam. Basella rubra L.
Common names:	Malabar spinach (English)
Frequency:
Status:	Native, cultivated and naturalized
Description:	Perennial with fleshy twining stems up to 8 m long, sometimes reddish. Leaves ovate to circular, 2.5–15 cm long, usually cordate at base; margin entire; petioles 0.5–9 cm long. Inflorescences axillary, usually unbranched spikes, 1.5–22 cm long on long peduncles. Flowers 2.5–6 mm long, white, pink or mauvish. Perianth somewhat fleshy, tubular with short lobes remaining closed. Stamens inserted near apex of tube. Fruit subglobose, 4–5 mm wide, black.
Notes:	Cultivated as a spinach and for a purple dye extracted from the fruit.
Derivation of specific name:	alba: white
Habitat:	In clearings and along margins of forest, usually in wet places.
Altitude range:	Up to 1650 m
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Probably native in tropical Asia and perhaps Africa but now pantropical. Widely cultivated and naturalised.
Malawi distribution:	N,S
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Content last updated:	Tuesday 25 June 2019
Literature:	Phiri, P.S.M. (2005). A Checklist of Zambian Vascular Plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 32 Page 35. Stannard, B.L. (1988). Basellaceae Flora Zambesiaca 9(1) Pages 161 - 163. (Includes a picture). Walters, S.M. et al. (eds) (1989). The European Garden Flora. Vol. III. Dicotyledons (Part I). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Pages 176 - 177.

Other sources of information about Basella alba:

Our websites:

Flora of Burundi: Basella alba
Flora of the DRC: Basella alba
Flora of the DRC: cultivated Basella alba
Flora of Malawi: cultivated Basella alba
Flora of Mozambique: Basella alba
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Basella alba
Flora of Rwanda: Basella alba
Flora of Rwanda: cultivated Basella alba
Flora of Zambia: Basella alba
Flora of Zambia: cultivated Basella alba

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Basella alba
African Plant Database: Basella alba
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Basella alba
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Basella alba
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Basella alba
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Basella alba
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Basella alba
JSTOR Plant Science: Basella alba
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Basella alba
Plants of the World Online: Basella alba
Tropicos: Basella alba
Wikipedia: Basella alba