Is this tropical veggie good for igs?

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Posted by frikidiki on January 02, 2003 at 10:48:53:

Is this tropical veggie good for igs or toxic?

Alogbati - Ceylon spinach/Malabar
Scientific Name: Basella alba L.
Synonym: Basella rubra
family: Basellaceae

BASELLACEAE
Malabar Spinach
Malabar spinach (Basella spp. L.) is also known as Ceylon spinach, vine spinach or Malabar nightshade. It is a climbing perennial plant, mostly cultivated as an annual vegetable against a support in home gardens but in some areas as a vine like market vegetable without staking. There are two common species of Malabar spinach, the red stem and leaves (Basella rubra L.) and the green leaves and white stem (Basella alba L.). Malabar spinach is not a true spinach (Spinacia oleracea L., chenopodiaceae), but its leaves, which form on a vine, resemble spinach, and are used in the same way. The plant is a native of the East Indies, and found its way to the New World from China. It has spread throughout the tropical world and it is one of the best tropical spinach widely adapted to a variety of soils and climates. It is particularly abundant in India, Malaysia, and the Philippines, but it is also seen throughout tropical Africa, the Caribbean, and tropical South America.

Malabar spinach has thick tender stems and the leaves are almost circular to ovate, alternate, and short petioled. They are thick, rugose, succulent, and colored from green to purple. The flowers, borne on axillary spikes or branching peduncles are bisexual and inconspicuous. The fruits are fleshy and purplish black and the juice is sometimes used as a dye.

The succulent young and mature leaves, and the stems are eaten. The most common method of cooking is as a pot herb, mixed with stew or other vegetables. On cooking, the green stem/leaf species retains its fresh green color. The red species loses much pigment to the water and is less attractive. The leaves have mild flavor or are almost tasteless. The stems may be somewhat bitter, and become gelatinous or mucilaginous especially when overcooked. Malabar spinach is a good source of vitamins A and C, calcium, and iron.

Malabar spinach is a perennial that tends to extend itself over time. Seeds can be sown directly or vines may be established directly from stem cuttings. These need a little shade on transplanting, but root readily. Malabar spinach can thrive under conditions of moderate soil fertility, but is quite responsive to nitrogen fertilizer. Evaluation trial at the experiment station indicated that plants can be harvested at 57 days after planting. The red species is slightly more productive than the green species (Table 1). Edible leaf yield was
385 g/m2 for the red species compared to 344 g/m2 for the green species. Malabar spinach is one of the rapidly growing tropical leaf vegetables in the Virgin Islands, responds well to pruning and nitrogen fertilizer. In addition, it is tolerant to insect pests and diseases. It is definitely one of the minor tropical leaf vegetables with market potential in the Virgin Islands.

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