The genus ''Basella'' is the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...

of the plant family

Basellaceae Basellaceae is a family (biology), 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: * ''An ...

. ''Basella'' contains five known species. Three species are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, and one is

to southeastern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. The fifth is widespread across

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, the

Indian Subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

, and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

. The genus name is derived from the south Indian name ''Basale'' which Hendrik Rheede recorded in Malabar as ''Basella'' in his '' Hortus Malabaricus''. The name was utilitized by Linnaeus.

Species

# ''

Basella alba ''Basella alba'' is an edible perennial vine in the family Basellaceae. It is found in tropical Asia and Africa where it is widely used as a leaf vegetable. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and New Guinea. It is naturaliz ...

'' L. - Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea; naturalized in Africa, southern China, Central America, and various oceanic islands # '' Basella excavata'' Scott-Elliot - Madagascar # '' Basella leandriana'' H.Perrier - Madagascar # '' Basella madagascariensis'' Boivin ex. H.Perrier - Madagascar # '' Basella paniculata'' Volkens - Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Transvaal, Kwazulu-Natal

References

External links

''Basella alba''
i

Basellaceae Caryophyllales genera {{Caryophyllales-stub