Editing Basella alba (section)

== Description ==

''Basella alba'' is a twining, climbing subshrub or vine with succulent-looking foliage and axillary flowers. A sturdy trellis keeps the long stems accessible for repeated leaf harvest and prevents the plant from sprawling through wet soil.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> The flowers are borne in the leaf axils. After flowering, the plant produces round, soft fruits that may be red, white, or black; these fruits contain the seed and can color plant material because of their pigments.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>

In its tropical Asian range, the plant grows through a warm, wet seasonal rhythm. For cultivation, that translates to a long frost-free period, steady moisture, and support for climbing growth. A grower in a cool climate can treat it as a warm-season annual or move a container plant into protection before frost; overwintering temperature should be treated as accession- and climate-dependent.