Ceylon spinach (Basella rubra)

Abstract

Although many pot-herbs can be cultivated in the tropies and subtropies, especially in areas with cool, dry seasons, true spinach often performls poorly in such regions because of insect pests and temperatures that are generally too high. One of the most vigorously growing and widely adapted substitutes is Ceylon spinach or Malabar nightshade. Ceylon spinach, Basella rutbra L. (B. alba L.), belongs to the family Basellaceae. Formerly it was included in the Chenopodiaceae, which includes true spinach (Spin-acia oleracea L.) and other pot-herbs. It is widely distributed in the tropics and often is cultivated in warm temperate areas of both the Eastern and Western Heiimispheres. It is usually considered native of southern Asia. The plant is an annual or biennial, climbing herb, usually with alternate, entire leaves that vary in size, shape and color according to the variety. The small, bisexual flowers are white, red or violet in simple axillary or terniinal compound spikes. Only one species is listed by Bailey (1), but it includes several variations that once were named as species. Basella alba, with white flowers, and B. cordifolia, with heart-shaped leaves are the excluded names most often encountered in horticultural literature. A cultivar with variegated foliage is nlentioned for use as an ornamental. A closely related plant perhaps more familiar to many is the Madeira or Mignonette Vine, Anredera cordiifolia (Ten.) Steen. (Botissingaultia baselloides auct. non HBK.). This tender, herbaceous perennial is cultivated for its masses of fragrant flowers produced in late summer and fall. Writing before 1899, Watt (20) states that Ceylon spinach is cultivated in almost every part of India, especially in lower Bengal and Assam, where it is an important