Basella

Basella
Basella alba
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Basellaceae
Genus:	Basella L.
Type species
Basella alba
Synonyms [1]
GandolaRumph. ex Raf.

The genus Basella is the type genus of the plant family Basellaceae. Basella contains five known species. ^[2] Three species are endemic to Madagascar, and one is endemic to southeastern Africa. The fifth is widespread across Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and New Guinea. ^[1]

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. ^{[3] [4]}

Species

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

References

1. "Basella L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
2. "Basella". The Plant List. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
3. Rheede, Hendrik van (1688). Hortus Malabaricus. Vol. 7. p. 45. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
4. Graham, John (1839). A catalogue of the plants growing in Bombay and its vicinity; spontaneous, cultivated or introduced, as far as they have been ascertained. p. 170.

External links

• Basella alba in BoDD – Botanical Dermatology Database