Are you familiar with Basella? Types of basella with photos and names. Use for decorative purposes

Basella- Liana is not only decorative, but also edible. This is a vegetable plant, but the flower fits well with the newfangled trend to plant vegetable gardens on the windowsills (decorative peppers, eggplants and other vegetables have become popular recently), and it is also exotic.

There are only 5 species in the genus Basella (in Madagascar, in East Africa and Southeast Asia). Wild plants are widely eaten. Common in India. Has a lot of names in other languages:

Ceylon, Vietnamese, grape, Malabar, Indian spinach (in European countries);
Tsuru Murasa Kai (in Japan);
There are several names in China, the plant has a folk name also in Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, which already speaks of its popularity.

In the photo below - the appearance of the plant:

Young shoots.

Flowers and leaves of the Rubra variety.

Species and varieties

Common in horticulture Basella white (Basella alba). The leaves are heart-shaped, the flowers are white, in some varieties - pink. Fragrant. Ripe fruits are black. All parts of the plant are edible.

Basella rubra (Basella alba v. rubra)- red. It has red petioles, which adds decorativeness to dishes. Grows faster than white.

Tuberous basella (Ullucus tuberosus)- has edible tubers, nutritious like potatoes, although less tasty than it.

Basella "Overseas Guest" - seeds from the company Sedek. This is the basella rubra described above. By the way, according to reviews, ordinary alba can grow from these seeds.

General information about growing

The plant is characterized by rapid growth and unpretentiousness. Likes abundant watering, light and warmth. The fruits appear in August. The length of the vine is up to 10 m.

Basella outdoors

How to grow a curiosity in the country? AT middle lane cultivated as an annual or perennial, but with the condition of wintering indoors. Young plants are planted when the threat of frost has passed (late May-early June), in a sunny place with fertile, light, well-drained soil. It can grow on poor soils, and even in the shade - in this case, the size of the leaves increases, but the growth of the plant slows down.

The distance between plants is at least 30 cm. You will need support, good option can become lattices for peas. Grows better with support.

Self-sowing does not reproduce, seeds easily die in the cold.

Planted in light fertile soil, in a sunny place. Mandatory care includes regular watering, all other activities (loosening, weeding) - if necessary.

It is advisable to change the planting site from year to year, as well as for many vegetable and flower crops.

Testimonials that someone successfully succeeded in open field in Russia there is no. However, there is a negative experience - the plant grew poorly. Among the reasons, one can assume increased dryness of the air. It probably makes sense to grow basella in a greenhouse, at least for initial stage, or in a portable greenhouse to bring the plant to the stage active growth, and then its aggressiveness, unpretentiousness, drought resistance and active growth will do everything for the gardener, it is not for nothing that this plant, brought to Cuba and South America as a cultivated plant, quickly went wild.

Room care

He is not original. Already based on the appearance of the plant with its juicy fleshy leaves and dimensions, it is clear what will be required:

A bright place, a southern window sill is well suited. Attention! The plant does not need shading, succulent leaves perfectly tolerate the direct rays of the sun. In winter, it can stretch out, lighting is desirable.
Warm even temperature. In summer it is within 20-25, in winter it is desirable (but not obligatory) coolness, about 15-17.
Regular abundant watering, in winter - moderate as the clod dries. Soil jamming is unacceptable, the soil should be light, drainage is required. Despite the fact that Basella loves moisture, it is still able to tolerate drought.
spraying. The plant does not like dry air. It is advisable to put the plant in a container with constantly wet moss.
Transplant - 1 time in 2-3 years.

reproduction

In warm countries, the plant is considered an aggressor, easily captures new areas and actively crowds out other crops. Basella is not capricious, it reproduces very easily in all ways.

seeds

Seeds are easy to germinate, sowing is done in early April. You can pre-soak the seeds for a day, although it is not necessary. The seeds are laid out on moist soil, since they are large enough, they are sprinkled with a rather thick layer of earth - 5-10 mm.

Basella seeds

Watered or sprayed abundantly, covered with glass (film). They germinate in two weeks, the container with seedlings is rearranged closer to the light. The temperature is required not lower than 20 C. Seedlings grow rather slowly, but after about a month and a half they enter a phase of active growth. By two months, the plant will already have several thick, well-leafed shoots.

At the end of May, you can plant the plant in open ground.

Growing from seeds "Overseas Guest", judging by the reviews, does not cause difficulties.

Collecting seeds at home

Seeds can be collected at home, but for this you will not have to pick leaves and stems from the vine. The fact is that flowers are formed first on the lower part of the stem, and then higher. Given that flowering begins in August, only the lower fruits have time to ripen in the middle lane. To collect seeds, the fruits must be allowed to fully ripen, to a thick black color. The ripe fruit is soft to the touch. At the same time, it is impossible to “miss” the time of collection - the fruit may open and the seeds will spill out. Seeds are cleaned of pulp, dried and stored in a cool dark place in paper bags until spring.

cuttings

The stems are cut 10 cm long, put in water, the roots form very quickly - in a week. After that, you can plant them in a pot or open ground.

Fertilizer

Like any culture that is actively gaining green mass, Basella is responsive to top dressing. Mineral and organic fertilizers alternate during the active growing season, fertilizing every two weeks.

Growing problems

Diseases and pests do not particularly like this vine. If it does not please with intensive growth, most likely, agricultural technology is violated:

Yellowing of the leaves, slow growth, the plant drops its leaves - it was flooded, and the roots began to rot from excess moisture.
Withered, sagging leaves with rags - lack of moisture.

May be affected by aphids, whitefly, spider mite- standard treatment with insecticides suitable for vegetables or treatment with home remedies is carried out.

Attention: Basella shoots are very fragile, easily break off. True, it is also easy for the plant to release new ones.

Use for decorative purposes

Liana with fleshy leaves looks quite exotic and is not inferior to many indoor deciduous plants. People who are not familiar with this culture do not perceive it as a vegetable and do not realize that this overseas liana successfully replaces spinach. Basel can be used:

In cooking

The crop is harvested from mid-summer (55-70 days after sowing). Cut apical shoots with leaves are suitable for food, but, as mentioned above, the whole plant is edible. Lateral shoots grow very quickly - that is, the culture is high-yielding. Removing flowers stimulates leaf growth - if the basella is grown for food, it is recommended to pinch emerging buds.

The leaves are tender, juicy, crispy, have a light fresh fragrance. The stems are fleshy, in the rubra variety a beautiful red-violet hue. The taste is vegetable, slightly reminiscent of beets, chard, spinach, baby corn. The taste is good both fresh and processed.

Perfect for salads - for eating raw, it is better to take young shoots and leaves. Suitable for preparations for the winter. Looks great in soups, cabbage soup and borscht. Old basella leaves contain mucus-forming substances, so they can be used as a thickener in soups and stews. Basella can be fried, stewed, baked - in general, any familiar dishes with beets or spinach can be reconsidered.

In the West, Malabar spinach is valued more than ordinary spinach. Mature basella leaves strongly resemble spinach, but do not wither as quickly and do not have such bitterness, due to the lower content of oxalic acid.

In India, basella is cooked with onions, mustard oil and chili peppers.

It is considered a dietary product. Leaves, stems and fruits are rich in vitamins. In some countries, a tincture of the leaves is used as a sedative. Helps in the treatment of wounds and abscesses. It can be recommended as a remedy for diseases of the digestive tract. Has diuretic properties.

Fruit

They should be mentioned separately. Liana bears fruit abundantly by the end of the season. The fruits are dark purple, with a rather aggressive pigment that stains everything it comes into contact with, so you should wear gloves when picking berries. Juice is a good natural dye, suitable for coloring ice cream, yogurt, pastry cream, cakes, pastries. The photo below shows what a bright magenta shade the basella gave to a white towel.

At the word spinach, we imagine a small herbaceous plant with juicy green leaves. Despite the lack of a pronounced taste, this green culture is firmly registered in the menu of supporters. healthy eating. And all thanks chemical composition leaves that contain proteins, sugars, organic acids, vitamins B1, B2, D, K, E, P, PP, carotene, iron, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, calcium and iodine. Traditionally, gardeners grow just such leafy spinach, advanced gardeners have already mastered the cultivation of New Zealand spinach - tetragonium. And now on the way fashion novelty- spinach Malabar or Ceylon.

exotic creeper

Curious travelers in India and Sri Lanka were the first to meet this plant. Not everyone can believe that the liana, also spinach, famously climbing along the supports to a height of almost 4 m. But that's just the way it is. Malabar spinach, or scientifically basella, is climbing plant with very long runs. There are two varieties: Alba with dark green leaves and Rubra with red leaves and showy purple stems.

Historically, the Basella Alba, thanks to the British, is called Malabar spinach- they brought this plant from the Indian state of Malabar, and Rubra basella - Ceylon spinach, less often wine, probably because the color of the leaves is akin to noble ruby wine. By the way, Basella Alba can be eaten both raw and boiled, but Rubra is better to be cooked - it is rough in its raw form.

Given the origin of the plant from the tropics and subtropics, in our climate it can only be grown as an annual crop. Only young leaves are used for food, and their cooking methods are exactly the same as traditional garden spinach. Therefore, it is more logical to grow basella in the garden as ornamental plant: either in hanging planters, or on trellises and arches.

The subtleties of growing

For the normal growth of basella, a high temperature is needed - not lower than 20 ° C, it gains the main green mass at a temperature of 25-30 ° C. Therefore, until the end of May, the plant is grown in pots, and sown for seedlings in the second half of April, maintaining the temperature at least 20 ° C, including at night. Pots for seedlings should be taken with a diameter of at least 6 cm. Seedlings 10-15 cm high are planted in hanging pots or in open ground next to the supports.

It looks very good in large pots, which are installed next to the supports. Only one plant can be planted in a hanging planter with a diameter of 20 cm. In open ground, the distance between plants is 35-45 cm. In large pots with a diameter of more than 50 cm, 2-3 plants are planted, often to increase decorative effect placing Alba and Rubra side by side.

Soils need fertile, high nitrogen content, well-drained, neutral or slightly acidic. Plantings must be freed from weeds, mulched with humus and watered regularly. Basella responds very well to irrigation with warm water over the leaves, especially in hot weather. During the season, plants are fed 2-3 times with a solution of mullein or green fertilizer (0.6 l of infusion per 9 l of water).

Basella stems are tied to vertical or horizontal trellises, lowered from hanging planters. When the plants reach 30-40 cm in height, pinch the tops of the stems to stimulate branching. To stimulate leaf growth, flower shoots are removed.

If you had few seeds, then this plant can be easily propagated by cuttings, which are cut into 10-15 cm long, planted in pots with loose fertile soil and cover with foil. Rooted plants are planted in open ground.

Are you familiar with Basella? One day, when I went to a flower shop, I saw this plant. The seller said that this amazing flower is basella.

Basella white - Basella alba Otherwise: Malabar spinach, Malabar nightshade, Indian spinach, Ceylon spinach, Philippine spinach, Red grape spinach, Creeping spinach.

The alba variety has dark green leaves, while the rubra variety has red leaves and stems. In temperate countries, varieties with leaves and stems that have red hues are most popular. Among them are such as " rosebud", "Rubra" and " Select Red". They have edible greens that should be cooked.

After abundant flowering in August-September, juicy fleshy fruits with seeds are formed on the vines. Now growing outdoors in flower pot and on
beds where I sown myself, but for the winter I plan to bring it into the house in a goshka.

I cut the leaves as new ones grow. It is very convenient - you cut off the lower ones and the upper ones grow further. This is a liana. Can be transplanted into a pot.This plant is very pretty - numerous shoots of basella with juicy green leaves wrap around the balcony picturesquely.
Basella blooms three to four times a year. Her flowers are not very expressive: they are white-pink balls collected in a brush. The ripe fruits of basella are decorative - shiny "varnished berries" of ink-black color.
Basella is especially beautiful when you can simultaneously see flowers in racemes and berries of varying degrees of maturity and size - from small green to ripe black ones.

Basella Care

Basella is an unpretentious liana, this plant requires almost no care.
The main thing is that the location is sunny, and watering is regular. Basella loves spraying with water at room temperature.
No pests or diseases were observed during the whole period of cultivation. The only inconvenience when caring for basella is associated with the tenderness and fragility of its young shoots. This creates some problems when transplanting vines.Therefore, at the same time, I have to cut the basella, but then it quickly grows back. For the same reason, it is difficult to tie it up - tender shoots can be injured and dry out.
Although the Basella garter is not necessary: with the timely provision of support, the plant itself successfully clings to it. The dried fruits of basella, falling into a nearby pot with a flower, give friendly shoots. Once, having cut the basella, I transplanted it into another pot. The old pot with earth stood for 2 years. I threw the earth into the front garden. What was my surprise when friendly shoots of basella rose.

Basella in cooking

Of its main advantages is the nutritional value of shoots and leaves. Dark green, juicy, pleasant
The taste of the leaves is rich in vitamins A and C, iron and calcium. They are used, like spinach, for salads, soups. I like it very much. Ordinary spinach - he once and for all. Ate it. And here, as needed, you cut off the leaves for yourself - and the stem grows further on itself. The fruits are used as a food coloring for baking, making jelly, jam, sweets.

Basella has found application in folk medicine. It has medicinal properties, it normalizes the work of the gastrointestinal tract. In Chinese folk medicine, it is used to reduce body temperature and neutralize poisons.

Basella- heat-loving and perennial climbing liana, a representative of the Basell family. The plant is also known under the name "Malabar spinach" (from the Malabar coast on the Hindustan peninsula). Scientists call the birthplace of the flower subtropics and tropics: Africa, America, India, Madagascar. There, the liana is used as a leafy vegetable. In the culinary field, this plant is better known as Indian or Philippine spinach.

Basella is not only very beautiful, but also useful plant. Indian beauties used the coloring fruits of the flower instead of blush. At the industrial level, the liana found its use as a product from which printing inks were made.

Types of basella

There are only two types of this plant:

Basella white, or Basella alba (Alba). This species is the most common, it originally appeared in Southeast Asia. The stems of this creeper are fleshy, and the leaves are soft and juicy.
Basella red, or Basella rubra, - decorative look plants. The stems of this creeper are purple-red, and the leaves are anthocyanin in color (see photo).

cultivation

Basella can be grown in an apartment. Liana loves sunny places, so it is better to put a flower pot on a balcony or on a windowsill. The plant prefers fertile soils, but in general the vine is unpretentious and can grow even in dry places. It reproduces by seeds seedling way it is planted in May in open ground.

The plant tolerates room conditions better if it is constantly sprayed. Basella loves moisture very much: the more it is watered, the more green mass will be. You can also root shoots of creepers: they take root well.

Basella can be planted with a decorative purpose for landscaping a balcony. It is somewhat problematic to replant the plant, since the shoots of the vine are very fragile and quickly break off. The flower must definitely cling to something, for this purpose they put a vertical support on it, it can also be tied up, which again is difficult due to the fragility of the basella. Liana grows very quickly, in one season it grows up to 2 meters.

Beneficial features

Useful properties of basella allow the use of leaves and shoots of the plant for medicinal purposes. fresh leaves can be applied to wounds for their speedy healing. Liana contains protein (20%), carbohydrates (54%), fats (3.5%), and the plant is also rich in dietary fiber (9%) and ash elements (19%). The plant is recommended to be used as source of vitamin A. in Asian folk medicine basella is used as a sedative, astringent. Outwardly, the liana is used in the form of poultices for the speedy healing of wounds, ulcers, edema, and abscesses. In China, Basella is used to neutralize poisons in the human body and lower the temperature. Liana has diuretic and laxative properties.

Lina contains a large number of vitamins A, B1, B2, C. Vitamin A is necessary for a satisfactory condition of the skin, with a lack of this vitamin, the skin becomes dry, wrinkles quickly appear. Vitamin A is an antioxidant, it maintains immunity and activates immune cells. Vitamin A is necessary for vision, eating foods high in vitamin A is an excellent prevention of visual impairment. Vitamin B1, or thiamine, is responsible for the normal functioning of the heart and nervous system, it is necessary to maintain all metabolic processes, participates in the process of hematopoiesis. The active form of thiamine is provided by the presence of magnesium in the body. B2, or riboflavin, is involved in growth processes, helps maintain vision. Riboflavin prevents the risk of developing cataracts, helps the eyes adapt to darkness faster, and reduces eye fatigue. Vitamin B2 maintains the normal condition of the mucous membranes, skin, nails. Riboflavin is especially necessary for people who abuse alcoholic beverages, as well as during intense physical exertion.

Use in cooking

In cooking, Indian spinach is very popular. nutritional value represent young leaves and shoots of basella. The leaves are dark green in color, very juicy and pleasant to the taste. Basella can easily replace regular spinach in some recipes. Young leaves can be added to salads, omelettes, snacks. in Indian cuisine and South America basella is classified as a vegetable plant. Liana has a delicate pleasant aroma and taste reminiscent of spinach, which allows it to be used as an additive to salads and sandwiches.

In some countries, basella leaves are brewed as tea, getting a vitamin and tasty drink. Also, the leaves are suitable for making mashed potatoes, vegetable soups. The leaves of the flower are often added to dishes with garlic, curry, pepper. The fruits of the creeper are used to make jelly, sweets, jams and other delicacies. Basella fruit juice has coloring properties, which allows it to be used as a natural dye. The fruits are added to pastries and sweets. The coloring properties of the fruit are enhanced by lemon juice.

Basella benefits and treatment

The benefits of basella are palpable in diseases associated with digestion. Liana normalizes the work of the stomach, has a beneficial effect on the intestines. Basella will help in the fight against extra pounds. This plant is great for diversifying your diet. Liana has lovely taste qualities, it can be used in fresh or subjected to heat treatment. The calorie content of the product is only 19 kilocalories per 100 grams. The low calorie content of the product and the high content of nutrients will help you lose weight without harm to the body.

Oriental medicine uses basel to treat abscesses, non-healing wounds.

Basella harm and contraindications

Liana can cause harm to the body with individual intolerance, and therefore only those people who are allergic to basella have a contraindication to the use of Indian spinach.

Two years ago, I came across the seeds of a hitherto unknown plant - Indian spinach. From the annotation on the bag, we managed to find out that this plant in our climate is an annual liana that can be grown for both decorative and practical purposes, i.e. to eat.

I planted this spinach in an ordinary ceramic pot with a diameter of 15 cm, the soil was also quite common, purchased - "Begonia". Why "Begonia"? It's just that at that time we were actively growing this wonderful plant and, of course, using the appropriate soil. I had to plant and then grow this vine at work. The pot with the plant was located on the brightest south-east facing window. It is clear that the liana from the very beginning was somewhat deprived of my attention, since most of the time it was "left to itself." In addition, the window sill, on which stood a pot with a planted plant, was actively blown from the street, and in heating season also warmed up from the batteries. In general, the growing conditions were Spartan, although, perhaps, this is what made it possible to obtain a strong healthy plant.

The seeds germinated quite amicably, the seedlings pulled up over the summer, forming a small single-stemmed vine, which, which surprised me very much, bloomed in the fall and brought fruit somewhere by December. I planted some of them again in the same pot, thinking that the fruiting plant would die. But it turned out that the liana, although it did not feel very comfortable last winter, nevertheless survived and this summer waved up window frame, once again endowing me with its autumn flowering and fruiting. And the planted seeds also sprouted, and now I already have several plants of Indian spinach. And one grows along with the avocado, using its trunk as a support. Interestingly, the avocado also began to feel much better from such a neighborhood.

Since I had quite a lot of Indian spinach, I boldly decided to use some of it for food. Ate the leaves like a salad, without applying heat treatment. It turned out that their taste is quite pleasant, not spicy, really a bit reminiscent of the taste of ordinary spinach. Since the plant has occupied "its niche" in my "garden", it became necessary to learn as much as possible about it.

It turned out that this plant is called Basella (Basella alba), belongs to the Marev family, the same as the Lebedovs (Chenopodiaceae). Sometimes they write about belonging to their own family - the Basells. Under natural conditions, it is a perennial. Basella loves a lot of moisture and a lot of light, which is natural and associated with climatic conditions growth.

What does it look like? In nature, this is a liana, reaching several meters in height. I have grown about 1.5 meters. The trunk is juicy, at the base reaching the thickness of the index finger, reddish, towards the top - green. The leaves are green, juicy, the flowers are inconspicuous, white, the fruits are small, black, when crushed, they secrete black juice, which has coloring properties. By appearance Basella fruits are a bit like the fruits of my other curiosity - phytolacca. I grow Basella in one trunk, although it easily produces numerous side shoots, especially if the main trunk is laid horizontally.

It reproduces, as I said above, by seeds, but it can be easily propagated by part of the lateral shoot: tearing it off, you need to put it in water, wait for the roots to appear and plant it on permanent place. I fertilize the plant about once a month. Last year I used regular fertilizers for vegetable crops, and in this one - fertilizer for flowers "Greenworld". So far, I have not noticed any difference in growth, flowering and fruiting associated with the use of different fertilizers.

Basella is often called Malabar spinach after the place of its main growth - the Malabar coast of the Hindustan peninsula. This coast is characterized by high humidity, swampy lowlands, wet tropical forests. The climate is subtropical, monsoonal, with comfortable temperatures in January - February (20-240C), with heavy rains (up to 2000 - 3000 mm of precipitation per year) in June - September. In May, the temperature can rise up to 400C. So the conditions for the growth of basella in nature can not be compared with my "window". Although, perhaps, the rather hot spring and relatively rainy summer of last year were not so bad for my creeper.

Many of our favorite plants belong to the Marev family: kochia, hill hodgepodge, quinoa, beets, spinach; some of them are widely used in food, others are used as medicinal plants, others are simply pleasing to the eye. In this capacity, the basella is no different from them. It is eaten both raw, which I have already tried on myself, and after heat treatment. According to some authors, Basella - medicinal plant. Applied topically, it has wound healing properties, and when taken orally, it normalizes the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. The fruits are also used in cooking: in jams, jelly. Well, its appearance is also quite unusual, a well-grown liana, especially during flowering and fruiting, looks beautiful on the window.

This year I will try to plant basella on garden plot if, of course, the weather permits. So experiment to grow this exotic plant will continue. Perhaps other interesting results will be obtained, which, of course, I will gladly share with the readers of the journal.

Oleg Vinokurov, gardener