Red-stemmed Malabar/Climbing Spinach (Basella alba 'Rubra') as Propagation Material

Family: Basellaceae (includes Madeira vine)
Genus: Basella (includes climbing or trailing vines)

Botanical/Binomial Name: Basella alba ‘Rubra’
Meaning of Name:
Basella, from the south Indian name Basale, recorded by the Dutch botanist Hendrik Rheede (1636-1691) in Malabar as Basella; and
alba, from Latin alba (feminine singular of albus, ‘white’), a reference to the flower colour of the wild-type green-stemmed plant
‘Rubra’, from Latin rubra (‘red’)

Common Names: Malabar Spinach, Climbing Spinach, Vine Spinach, Ceylon Spinach, Indian Spinach
Cultivar: Rubra

Botanical Characteristics: Herbaceous | Annual or Perennial (depending on climate) | Evergreen | Frost tender
Propagation: Seed

Item Description:
PROPAGATION MATERIAL PROVIDED ON REQUEST
Malabar/climbing spinach can be purchased here if in stock.

The price listed here for propagation material is an indication only. The actual price may vary depending on your requirements. I am most happy to discuss your needs with you, and supply accordingly.

Plant Description:
Malabar spinach is not a spinach of family Brassicaceae, but an unrelated tropical climbing vine in a different family. It is perennial in tropical climates, but dies down every winter in temperate regions after seeding prolifically (third photo, not of this plant).

This is a vigorous climber and can produce leaves 150-200 mm across. The leaves have a mucilaginous texture, which makes them always succulent and juicy at any age.

The leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, and their fleshy nature keeps their shape in cooking. The small baby leaves would be best in salads, but the chopped larger mature leaves are a great leafy green to add to and bulk up curries and stews.

The third photo shoes the pink flowers of this ‘Rubra’ cultivar. The green-stemmed wild-type has white flowers. The black shiny balls are the developing seeds, which eventually dry to smaller wrinkly mature seeds.

Growing Information:
Malabar spinach is a tough, hardy and vigorous plant in warm weather, but will not survive climates with heavy frosts. In our climate it reliably goes to seed before dying down in winter, but I am not sure how it, or the seeds would fare in climates with short summers and cold winters.

This species self-seeds readily here, but if it seeds prior to very cold winters I would recommend collecting and storing the seeds indoors. Don’t collect the seeds when they are fleshy as in the third photo, as they are undeveloped and will rot. Instead, wait until they are hard, dry and wrinkled balls which come off easily in the hand. These have a high germination rate and you don’t need many!