284 SPIXACEOUS PLANTS. 



and upwards in length, slender, climbing ; leaves alternate, 

 oval, entire on the borders, green and fleshy ; flowers in 

 clusters, small, greenish ; seeds round, with portions of the 

 pulp usually adhering, eleven to twelve hundred weighing 

 an ounce. They retain their vitality three years. 



Large- leaved A Chinese species, more vigorous and much 



Chinese Mal- 

 abar Night- stronger in its general habit than the Red or 



shade. 



LARGE-LEAVED the White. Leaves as large as those of Let- 



MALABAR SPIN- 



AC coBmrofi L A L . A tuce, green, round, thick, and fleshy ; flowers 

 small, greenish ; seeds round, nearly of the same form and 

 color as those of the White variety, but rather larger. 



The species is slow in developing its flower-stem, and is 

 the best for cultivation. 



RED MALABAR NIGHTSHADE. 

 Red Malabar Spinach. Basella rubra. 



From China. Properly a biennial plant, but, like the 

 White species, usually cultivated as an annual. It is distin- 

 guished from the last named by its color, the whole plant 

 being stained or tinted with purplish-red. In the size and 

 color of the seeds, and general habit of the plant, there are 

 QO marks of distinction, when compared with the White. 



Propagation and Cultivation. All of the species are 

 easily grown from seeds, which may be sown in a hot-bed in 

 March, or in the open ground in May. They take root 

 readily when transplanted, and may be grown in rows, like 

 the taller descriptions of peas, or in hills, like running beans. 

 Wherever grown, they require a trellis, or some kind of sup- 

 port ; otherwise the plants will twist themselves about other 

 plants, or whatever objects may be contiguous. All are com- 

 paratively tender, and thrive best, and yield the most pro- 

 duce, in the summer months. 



