Malabar greens
Backyard & Outdoor Living|Backyard & Outdoor Living 63
When spinach is done for summer, that's when this sun-loving substitute comes into its own.
chloe thomson
Malabar greens

In the heat of the summer garden, when your spinach leaves become bitter and the plants wilt in the hot sun, it's time to consider a heat-loving alternative one undeterred by the extreme, hot summer conditions.

A heat-tolerant climbing vine from the tropics of Asia and Africa, Malabar spinach - also known as Ceylon spinach, climbing spinach and vine spinach - is actually not a true spinach. It belongs to the Basellaceae family but its leaves taste like spinach and can be enjoyed raw or cooked.

There are two main species - Basella rubra, with an attractive dark-red stem, and B. alba with a green stem - but both have the same heart-shaped dark-green edible leaves.

In warmer, frost-free climates it can be grown year-round, but in cooler areas it's grown as a summer annual. Start it easily from seeds or cuttings, though seeds will germinate best if scarified with a bit of sandpaper first.

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