Scientific Name:
Basella alba
'Rubra'
Pronunciation:
ba-SELL-ah AL-buh
Common Name:
vine spinach, Malabar spinach
Family Name:
Basellaceae
Plant Type:
Annual (grown as), Vine or climber
Key ID Features:
Climbing annual vine; leaves ovate, most 6-9cm long x 3-5cm wide, margins entire, thick, dark green, taste like spinach, petioles about 1cm long; florets pink tinged, urn shaped, about 3mm long, in spikes about 3-4cm long.
Habit:
Spreading
Form:
Climbing, Creeping / Mat-like
Texture:
Medium
Mature Height:
1.3 - 2.0m
Mature Spread:
0.6 - 1.0m
Growth Rate:
Fast
Origin:
S.E. Asia / Japan / China, South Asia / India
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 10: (-1 to 4 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun only if soil kept moist
Soil/Growing Medium:
Humus rich
Landscape Uses:
Arbors or trellis, Herb, Urban agriculture
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple
Arrangement:
Alternate
Texture/Venation:
Succulent
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Colour in Summer:
Dark-green
Shapes:
Ovate
Apices:
Acute
Bases:
Cordate
Margins:
Entire
Inflorescence Type:
Spike
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Corolla Shape:
Urceolate
Colour (petals):
Showy, White, Pink
Flower Time at Peak:
Sep, Oct
Fruit Type:
Berry (true)
Fruit Colour:
Black (dark blue-black skin, dark red-violet flesh)
Fruiting Time:
Oct
Additional Info:
Showy
Bark or Stem Colour:
Red
Organ Modifications:
Twining stems
Propagation:
Cuttings
Optimal Temp.:
High
Light Level:
High
Maintenance:
Medium
Pest Susceptibility:
(Pest resistant, Disease resistant)
