Basella alba

Also known as vine spinach, Malabar Spinach, New Zealand Spinach, Ceylon Spinach

species of plant

OverviewAI-generated

*Basella alba*, commonly known as Ceylon spinach, Malabar Spinach, or Espinaca China, is a species of plant in the family Basellaceae. It belongs to the genus *Basella* and is classified within the order Caryophyllales. This useful plant serves as a vegetable, food source, and medicinal plant.

The species is native to regions including Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, the Philippines, and New Guinea. Its recorded range also includes China, specifically Shanghai, Tianjin, and Guangdong. *Basella alba* is considered invasive in Indonesia. Occurrence records from various institutions document its presence in countries such as Mexico, Thailand, Kenya, and Malawi.

Synthesized by Vinony from 34 facts across 6 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, Gbif Occ, Plants of the World, iDigBio, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

SPECIES

KingdomPlantae
PhylumTracheophyta
ClassMagnoliopsida
OrderCaryophyllales
FamilyBasellaceae

Native toBangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, New Guinea, Philippines

Observations recorded5,024

Der Indische Spinat, Malabarspinat oder Ceylonspinat (Basella alba) ist eine Pflanzenart aus der Gattung Basella innerhalb der Familie der Basellgewächse (Basellaceae). Sie wird in den gesamten Tropen angebaut und die jungen Blätter als Kochgemüse verwendet.

via GBIF · Kew POWO

Museum specimens

Specimen records: 733
With media: 642
Family: Basellaceae
Collections: CICY, CAS, ANSP, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA MUSEUMS, BRIT, US
Recorded in: Mexico, China, Thailand, Kenya, Malawi, United States, Brazil, Philippines

iDigBio →

~5 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Basella alba is a perennial vine in the family Basellaceae. It is also known by common names including Malabar spinach, vine spinach, Ceylon spinach, alugbati and Indian spinach.

The plant is native to Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and New Guinea and naturalized elsewhere. It has a number of culinary uses.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Basella alba” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.