Note from the Author: This was overdue, I think.
The flowers are ok-ish and not all that special. 
The semi-succulent leaves can get pretty big, I would advise using a pair of snippers to harvest only the leaves. 
Many online sites say the berries taste good, I'm guessing they're ok with them being bland. 
Red Malabar spinach has pronounced red stems.
Common Name: Malabar Spinach
Other Common Names: Ceylon Spinach, Alugbati, Indian Spinach, Vine Spinach.
Botanical Family: Basellaeae (The Malabar Spinach Family)
Botanical Latin Name: Basella alba ‘rubra’
Description & Habitat:
Malabar Spinach is a non-native annual vine that readily resows itself in warmer parts of North America and can become a nuisance. Malabar Spinach is native to the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and New Guinea. Generally speaking Malabar Spinach is a fast-growing warm season vine that can produce vines as long as thirty-three feet long in a growing season under optimal conditions. Its leaves are heart shaped, semi-succulent and are borne in an alternate arrangement. The stems and leaf petioles have a red coloration that makes them stand out more. The plant’s flowers are small pink and white colored and are spheroid shaped and lack petals. The berries produced from the flowers are a dark purple color and are edible but do not taste like much of anything. In zone 8B, this plant will return from seeds yearly and its seedlings emerge in late spring or early summer. The Malabar Spinach vines are vigorous and the plants are fairly tolerant of average to low quality soil. In cultivation his plant is fairly drought resistant and reacts to nitrogen application rapidly.
Special Toxicity Note: Malabar spinach is not known to be toxic to pets but it does have a small amount of oxalate crystals which are destroyed by cooking.
When & What to Harvest: The leaves are what you are after.
Related Plants: Green Malabar Spinach (Basella alba), this is the pure green version of the plant, it can be use in the exact same way.
Recipe:
The Forager Chef has an excellent recipe for Malabar Spinach, check it out at the link below.
https://foragerchef.com/malabar-spinach-recipe/
Additional Information: (If applicable)
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/malabar-spinach-basella-alba/
Where to get Seed or Bare Root Plants:
https://www.rareseeds.com/spinach-red-malabar
With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog. In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.
Fresh Foods
Fig Leaf Tea, 8oz
Herbs
Oregano
Sage, Common
Fall Plants
Collards
Kale, Scotch Blue
Kale, Ragged Jack
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts,
Garden Supply
Live Mushroom Compost, 1 Gallon
Live Mushroom Compost, 3 Gallon
Plants Coming Soon:
-Fall Food Plants-
How to stay in Contact with Us!
All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.
Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville
Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:
The Videos: Look Here
>Newest videos (1): Culantro
With all of the updates, blog posts, community announcements and the main topic handled remember that Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’s meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is September 19th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm, or at North South Brewing on the same day between 1:00 and 5:00pm.
