Malabar spinach
Basella alba L.
Malabar spinach (Basella alba) is a tropical leaf vegetable vine with thick, mildly mucilaginous leaves, cooked in soups; rich in vitamins A and C, folate and iron.
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Malabar spinach — In cultivationMalabar spinach — Plant
Malabar spinach — Leaves
Malabar spinach — Flower
Malabar spinach — Ripe fruit
Malabar spinach — SeedsMalabar spinach — In cultivationMalabar spinach — PlantOverview
A fast-growing, soft-stemmed twining vine reaching up to 10 m; leaves are thick, semi-succulent, heart-shaped, alternate, entire and stalked. Flowers form in axillary spikes, white to pale red-purple; the small berry is 5–6 mm, green when young and turning dark purple when ripe. Two main forms occur: green-stemmed and the red-purple 'Rubra'.
Leaves and tender shoots are a familiar vegetable in Vietnam, cooked in soups with shrimp, crab, luffa or jute; cooking releases a characteristic mucilage that thickens the broth. Fresh leaves are rich in provitamin A, vitamin C, folate, manganese and minerals, and are considered cooling and mildly laxative. In India, Sri Lanka and the Philippines it is made into curries, the vegetable dish utan, or pakoras; ripe fruits yield a red juice used as a food colourant and dye in China.
Life cycle
From seed to productGermination
Seedlings emerge with two clear cotyledons from ink-dark ripe seeds.
Vine growth
Thick vines climb supports quickly and are picked continuously for shoots and leaves.
Flowering
Small flowers in axillary spikes, white or pale red-purple.
Fruiting
Berries ripen dark purple and yield red juice; usually kept for seed.
Distribution & origin
Share of recorded occurrences by region- India · South Asia (native)30%
- Southeast Asia (incl. Vietnam)30%
- New Guinea · Oceania10%
- Naturalized: China, Africa, Americas30%
Chemical composition
Relative content in agarwood resin- MucilageThickens when cooked; mildly laxative35%
- SaponinsPresent in leaves25%
- β-Carotene (provitamin A)400 µg RAE per 100 g fresh leaves25%
- Iron & minerals1.2 mg iron; 109 mg calcium per 100 g15%
Uses
- Cooked in soup with shrimp, crab, luffa or jute — a cooling, mildly laxative dish
- Used in Sri Lankan curries, Filipino utan, Indian pakoras
- Ripe fruits give red juice used as colourant/dye (China); fruit juice used in folk medicine for eye pain
Properties
- Stem
- Thick, soft, twining; green or red-purple
- Leaf
- Heart-shaped, entire, semi-succulent
- Flower
- Axillary spikes, white to pale red-purple
- Fruit
- Berry 5–6 mm, dark purple when ripe
Habitat & conservation
Hot, humid tropics in full sun, usually below 500 m; well-drained loamy soil rich in organic matter, pH 5.5–7.0. Grows vigorously at 21–32 °C and slows below 15 °C; flowering is triggered by short days.
Conservation
Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List. Malabar spinach is widely cultivated across the tropics and naturalized in many regions (China, Africa, the Americas), and is not threatened.
References
- 1Plants of the World Online — Basella alba L. — Kew Science, 2026
- 2Basella alba — mô tả, dinh dưỡng, công dụng (tham chiếu POWO, USDA, PROTA) — English Wikipedia, 2026
- 3Mồng tơi — mô tả, công dụng, thành phần — Vietnamese Wikipedia, 2026
- 4USDA FoodData Central — Vinespinach (Basella alba), raw — USDA, 2024
- 5Florida Cultivation Guide for Malabar Spinach — UF/IFAS Extension, 2020
- 6Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2 — Vegetables (Basella alba) — PROTA, 2004
- 7Nguồn ảnh: Adityamadhav83 (CC BY-SA 3.0) — Wikimedia Commons,
- 8Nguồn ảnh: Joydeep (CC BY-SA 3.0) — Wikimedia Commons,
- 9Nguồn ảnh: TheAhasan (CC BY 4.0) — Wikimedia Commons,
- 10Nguồn ảnh: RJ Raawat (CC BY-SA 4.0) — Wikimedia Commons,
- 11Nguồn ảnh: Plague (CC BY-SA 4.0) — Wikimedia Commons,