Basella

Basella, a tropical genus of Chenopodiaceæ (q.v.). B. alba and B. rubra are known in Britain as stove biennials. They are plants with twining stems, in common use as pot-herbs in the East Indies, and cultivated in China; also sometimes in France as a substitute for spinach. B. rubra yields a rich purple dye. The great fleshy root of B. tuberosa, a South American twiner, is edible.