Basella alba L., Basellaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 8 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Basella cordifolia Lam.; Basella rubra L.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: luo kui

English: Ceylon spinach, Indian spinach, Malabar nightshade, Malabar spinach, vine spinach

French: épinard de Malabar, baselle, brède d'Angola, brède de Malabar

Hawaiian: ‘īnika

Japanese: tsuru-murasaki

Spanish: espinaca blanca, espinaca de Malabar

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Glabrous annual or shortly lived perennial, succulent tangled twiner; stems much branched, 2-10 m long, sometimes almost leafless, greenish or reddish.  Leaf-lamina ovate to suborbicular, (2-) 5-15 cm long, (1.25-) 5-13.5 cm broad, acute or acuminate (less commonly obtuse), usually widely cordate at the base; lateral nerves 4-5 on either side; petiole (1-) 2.5-6.5 cm long.  Flowers white, rose or purplish, (3-) 4-5 mm long, in long-peduncled spikes, 2.5-15 (-25) cm long, usually unbranched (in African specimens at least) but branched in some cultivated forms.  Perianth fleshy, urceolate, somewhat saccate at bhe base; lobes short, ovate, about one-third the length of the tube, not opening.  Fruits ± 0.5 cm in diameter (4-7 x 5-10) mm (according to van Steenis), red, white or black; surface crinkly in the dry state" (Verdcourt, 1968; p. 2).

Habitat/ecology:  In Africa, "in thickets, forest edges, margins of cultivated land and swampy ground, frequently by rivers or streams; 0 (cultivated)-2450 m" (Verdcourt, 1968; p. 2).

Propagation:  Seed and locally by underground rhizomes  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 173).

Native range:  "Precise native range not known, but is presumed to be Africa or somewhere in Asia.  Today it is cultivated as a food plant throughout warm regions of the world"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 173).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Cook Islands	Cook Islands	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2013)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 48) Voucher cited: H.M. Smith 87
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J. (2004) (p. 86) Adventive.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Adventice
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Nagata, Kenneth M. (1995) (pp. 11-12) Voucher cited: Nagata 3948 (BISH, HLA) Naturalized
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced cultivated	Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (p. 103) Voucher cited: Thaman & Manner 138 (SUVA)
New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea) New Guinea Island	New Guinea Island	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
Palau Palau (Belau ) (main island group)	Palau Islands (main island group)		Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (2010) (p. 23)
Palau Rock Islands (Chelbacheb)	Ngeanges Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie (2009) (p. 62)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced invasive cultivated abo. intro.	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 137) In the settled areas, in hedges, old cultivated areas, etc.; often Planted. A prehistoric introduction.
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Midway Atoll	Midway Atoll	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1864)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	introduced invasive cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Guatemala (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Panama (Republic of)	introduced invasive cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
China China	China (People's Republic of)	possibly native invasive cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) "Widely cultivated. Naturalized in S. China. Sometimes regarded as native, this species has long been cultivated as a vegetable and an ornamental".
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 80)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	introduced invasive cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Java, Sumatra Naturalized
Japan Japan	Japan	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 181)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	introduced cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 18) Cultivated only
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia	introduced invasive cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	introduced invasive cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)	introduced invasive cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
Taiwan Taiwan Island	Taiwan Island	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	introduced invasive cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	introduced invasive cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Christmas Island Group	Christmas Island	introduced invasive	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1993) (p. 17)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Basella alba, please let us know.