Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Basellaceae
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images
madeira-vine
Quizzes
Venus's-flytrap. Venus's-flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) one of the best known of the meat-eating plants. Carnivorous plant, Venus flytrap, Venus fly trap
Plants: From Cute to Carnivorous
Related Questions
Read Next
Plant seedlings emerging from rich fertile soil
Do Plants Feel Pain?
Flower bingo
Britannica’s Flower Bingo
Macro image of pollen-covered bee on purple crocus. (flowers, stamen, pollination, insects, nature)
5 Fast Facts About Flower Anatomy
Anemone coronaria, the poppy anemone, Spanish marigold, or windflower, is a species of flowering plant.
What’s the Difference Between Angiosperms and Gymnosperms?
Roses flowers plant colorful rose
Do Plants Have Sexes?
Discover
Attack on Pearl Harbor. December 7, 1941. Pearl Harbor infographic. World War II. Hawaii. United States. Japan. SPOTLIGHT VERSION
Attack on Pearl Harbor Timeline
January 21, 2019: Superbowl LIII will be played at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday, February 3, 2019 against the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams.
What Was the Super Bowl’s First Blockbuster Commercial?
Data analysis of the Super Bowl's "winningest" teams, game locations, MVP winners by position, teams with the most game losses. football, sports, infographic
From Sport to Spectacle: The History of the Super Bowl
The Lost Colony of Roanoke, North Carolina, where 115 people mysteriously disappeared c. 1590. John White discovers the word Croatoan carved onto a tree upon his return to the deserted Roanoke Colony in 1590
The Lost Colony of Roanoke
Remarkable new details of Pluto's largest moon Charon are revealed in this image from New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), taken late on July 13, 2015 from a distance of 289,000 miles
Why Is Pluto No Longer a Planet?
Secret Service Agent Listens To Earpiece
Secret Service Code Names of 11 U.S. Presidents
Shah Jahan. Taj Mahal. Mughal architecture. Emperor Shah Jahan fifth Mughal Emperor (reigned 1628-1658) India, Himachal Pradesh, Basohli or Jammu and Kashmir, Mankot, circa 1690 Drawings; Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper (see notes)
6 Important Mughal Emperors

madeira-vine
madeira-vine Madeira-vine (Anredera cordifolia).

Basellaceae

plant family
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/plant/Basellaceae
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Also known as: Madeira-vine family
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Article History

Basellaceae, the Madeira-vine family of flowering plants in the order Caryophyllales, with 4 genera and 15 to 25 species of herbaceous perennial vines, distributed primarily in the New World tropics. Members of the family have fleshy, untoothed leaves, tuberous rootstocks, and red or white flowers in branched or unbranched clusters. Madeira-vine, or mignonette-vine (Anredera cordifolia or Boussingaultia baselloides), and Malabar nightshade (several species of Basella) are cultivated as ornamentals. Malabar spinach (Basella alba) is a hot-weather substitute for spinach.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.