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Plant · P-282
Malabar Spinach
Basella alba
Malabar spinach is a fast-growing vine grown as an annual for its mild, spinach-flavoured leaves and stem tips, harvested continuously through summer heat that would finish true spinach. Its mucilage thickens soups the way okra does, giving a second use from the same harvest, and consistent moisture is what keeps the plant from flowering and turning bitter rather than what keeps it alive. Give it something to climb - a trellis or fence - and three vigorous vines are enough greens for a household all summer. It dies back at the first frost every year rather than persisting as a perennial.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun · Partial Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 9–11
- Soil
- Sand · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Moderate · Moist
Vertical layer
Vine- Soil pH
- 5.5–7.5
- Plant type
- Vine
- Mature height
- 3–6 ft
- Mature spread
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The deeper layer