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Basella alba

Common name:	Indian Spinach	Family:	Basellaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:	Basella rubra (L.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia. Africa.
Habitat:	Moist places in hedges to elevations of about 500 metres in Nepal[272].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Ceylon Spinach [P], Ceylon-spinach [B], Chung K'Uei [E], Gendolak [E], Genjerot [E], Jingga [E], L [E], Lo K'Uei [E], Oetji-oetji [E], Remayong [E], T'Eng K'Uei [E], Tian Kui Zi [E], Yu Ts'Ai [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	alba = white
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Caryophyllales. Basella family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China Gandola India(Santal) Java Malaya Wi

Physical Characteristics

Perennial Climber growing to 9m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 10 and is frost tender. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Cultivar 'Eclipse': Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Colouring Leaves Tea.

Leaves and stem tips - raw or cooked[200]. A pleasant mild spinach flavour[206], the leaves can be used as a spinach or added to salads[183]. Do not overcook the leaves or they will become slimy[206]. The mucilaginous qualities of the plant make it an excellent thickening agent in soups, stews etc where it can be used as a substitute for okra, Abelmoschatus esculentus[206]. A nutritional analysis of the leaves is available[218].
An infusion of the leaves is a tea substitute[183].
The purplish sap from the fruit is used as a food colouring in pastries and sweets. The colour is enhanced by adding some lemon juice[183].

Composition

Leaves (Dry weight): In grammes per 100g weight of food:
Water: 0 Calories: 275 Protein: 20 Fat: 3.5 Carbohydrate: 54 Fibre: 9 Ash: 19
In milligrammes per 100g weight of food:
Calcium: 3000 VitaminA: 50 Thiamine: 0.7 Riboflavin: 1.8 Niacin: 7.5 VitaminC: 1200

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antidote Aperient Astringent Demulcent Diuretic Febrifuge Laxative Rubefacient.

Astringent - the cooked roots are used in the treatment of diarrhoea[206, 264].
Laxative - the cooked leaves and stems are used[206, 264].
The flowers are used as an antidote to poisons[218].
A paste of the root is applied to swellings and is also used as a rubefacient[272].
The plant is febrifuge, its juice is a safe aperient for pregnant women and a decoction has been used to alleviate labour[218].
The leaf juice is a demulcent, used in cases of dysentery[218]. It is also diuretic, febrifuge and laxative[218]. The leaf juice is used in Nepal to treat catarrh[272]. A paste of the leaves is applied externally to treat boils[272].

Other Uses

Dye.

A red dye is obtained from the juice of the fruits[206]. It has been used as a rouge and also as a dye for official seals[218].

Cultivation details

Requires a well-drained moisture-retentive soil rich in organic matter and a warm sunny sheltered position[200]. Prefers a sandy loam[206]. Tolerates fairly poor soils but does much better in rich soils[206]. Tolerates high rainfall[206]. Tolerates a pH in the range 4.3 to 7.
A frost-tender perennial, it is not hardy outdoors in Britain but can be grown as a spring-sown annual[200]. A fast growing plant, capable of producing a crop within 70 days from seed in a warm climate[200, 264], though it requires a minimum daytime temperature of 15° c if it is to keep growing vigorously so it seldom does well outdoors in Britain[264]. It does tolerate low light levels plus night temperatures occasionally falling below 10° c, and so can do well in a cold greenhouse[206]. Plants do not flower if the length of daylight is more than 13 hours per day[200].
Widely cultivated for its edible leaves in the tropics[200], there are some named varieties[183]. It is an excellent hot weather substitute for spinach[183].
Some authorities recognize three different species, B. alba, B. rubra and B. cordifolia[206], they are all treated here as being part of one species[K].

Propagation

Seed - sow March or April in a warm greenhouse. The seed requires a minimum temperature of 18 - 21° c in order to germinate[264], it germinates within 10 - 21 days at 20° c, pre-soaking the seed for 24 hours in warm water shortens the germination time[206]. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots of fairly rich compost and grow them on fast, planting them out after the last expected frosts.
Stem cuttings[200]. These can be taken in the late summer, overwintered in a greenhouse and then be planted out in late spring or early summer.

Cultivars

'Red' 'Red Stemmed' 'Rubra': The leaves, stems and flowers are tinged with red. The colour is lost when the plant is cooked and so it is best used in salads[183].
'Eclipse': Producing a crop in 55 - 60 days in warm areas, this is a very early cultivar producing small and compact plants that can be planted close together[183]. The leaves are thick and medium to deep green in colour[183]. Yields very well under warm humid conditions[183].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Latin and Worldwide Common Names From Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database by M. H. Porcher et. al. 1995 - 2000 Landcare Systems Research Laboratory, Department of Crop Production,Institute of Land and Food Resources, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Basella rubra (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for the family Basellaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[206] Larkcom J. Oriental Vegetables John Murray 1991 ISBN 0-7195-4781-4
Well written and very informative.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[264] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Vegetables Macmillan Reference Books, London. 1995 ISBN 0 333 62640 0
Excellent and easily read book with good information and an excellent collection of photos of vegetables from around the world, including many unusual species.

Readers Comments

Basella alba

Jon Booth (jonbooth@bigpond.com) Sun Dec 8 11:20:54 2002

Superb salad greens & keeps a long time in refrigeration. Grows slowly in high PH soils.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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