Basella albaL.

Ceylon spinachMalabar Spinach

WFO wfo-0000823202 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Basella alba, photographed by Greg III Espera
fig. a Greg III Espera, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-04-29 / obs. 191462585
Basella alba, photographed by 葉子
fig. b 葉子, CC0 1.0 / obs. 184834814
Basella alba, photographed by 葉子
fig. c 葉子, CC0 1.0 / obs. 178180745
Basella alba, photographed by 葉子
fig. d 葉子, CC0 1.0 / obs. 178001144
Basella alba, photographed by Agnes Trekker
fig. e Agnes Trekker, CC0 1.0 / obs. 171750809
Basella alba, photographed by Agnes Trekker
fig. f Agnes Trekker, CC0 1.0 / obs. 159753126
Basella alba, photographed by Agnes Trekker
fig. g Agnes Trekker, CC0 1.0 / obs. 152914127
Basella alba, photographed by 雲一百香果
fig. h 雲一百香果, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 150027669

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 17 botanical countries

Regions where Basella alba is native: Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam BangladeshBorneoCambodiaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNew GuineaPhilippinesSri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnam
Native distribution of Basella alba, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Bangladesh BAN ASIA-TROPICAL
Borneo BOR
Cambodia CBD
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
New Guinea NWG
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 22 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Basella alba var. cordifolia (Lam.) M.R.Almeida
  • Basella alba var. subcordata Hassk.
  • Basella alba var. subrotunda Moq.
  • Basella cananifolia Buch.-Ham. ex Wall.
  • Basella cordifolia Lam.
  • Basella crassifolia Salisb.
  • Basella japonica Burm.f.
  • Basella lucida L.
  • Basella nigra Lour.
  • Basella oleracea Alef.
  • Basella oleracea var. alba (L.) Alef.
  • Basella oleracea var. cordifolia (Lam.) Alef.
  • Basella oleracea var. japonica (Burm.f.) Alef.
  • Basella oleracea var. nigra (Lour.) Alef.
  • Basella oleracea var. ramosa (J.Jacq. ex Spreng.) Alef.
  • Basella oleracea var. rubra (L.) Alef.
  • Basella ramosa J.Jacq. ex Spreng.
  • Basella rubra L.
  • Basella rubra var. virescens Moq.
  • Basella volubilis Salisb.
  • Gandola nigra (Lour.) Raf.
  • Gandola rubra Rumph. ex L.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.