Indian spinach
Basella alba
Also known as Malabar spinach
ClimberoutdoorMedicinal
About Indian spinach
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.
Description adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Basella alba
- Genus
- Basella
- Family
- BASELLACEAE
- Habit
- Climber
- Native to
- Tropical Asia, Africa
- Distribution
- Tropical Asia, Africa often Cultivated
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Local Names
- Hindi
- Poi पोई, पोई
- Bengali
- Pui Shaak, পুঁই শাক
- Tamil
- Vasalakkirai, பசளி
- Telugu
- బచ్చలి కూర
- Kannada
- ಬಸಲೆ, ಬಸಳೆ Basale, ಪೋತಕಿ Potaki
- Malayalam
- Vasalaccira, വള്ളിച്ചീര, Basella alba
- Marathi
- Velbendi, मायाळू
Botanical family
Basellaceae
Basella Family
Indian spinach belongs to the Basellaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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