Basellaceae
Family of flowering plants
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Basellaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Caryophyllales, in the clade core eudicots, according to the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. The family comprises 19 known species of herbaceous plants in four genera:[2]
| Basellaceae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Basella alba (rubra) from Blanco (c. 1880) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Basellaceae Raf.[1] |
| Genera | |
|
See text | |
All the species are climbing or trailing vines. Two species cultivated as food – Basella alba (Malabar spinach) and Ullucus tuberosus (ulluco) – have been bred to a more erect, compact form. Three species grow tubers – Anredera cordifolia and A. vesicaria produce them in the leaf axils or at the base of the stem and U. tuberosus at the end of stolons. Leaf blades vary in shape between species, within species, and even on an individual plant.[3]
The two cultivated species are of economic importance.
