Basella alba. Mayalu/Malabar spinach.

Malabar spinach, Commonly known also as Mayalu, Poi, Pui, Poyi is a perennial vine with fleshy leaves. Leaves and tender stems are used as leafy vegetable. Leaves are also used for making fried pakodas (भजी). It has certain medicinal uses also. There is a green leaf variety and also a variety with purplish stems. The green variety is normally preferred because its leaves are more fleshy. Purple stem variety is a vine with very long stems and can be easily trained on a arch or on a trellis. Green one has more compact growth; but does grow like a climber.

Base

Basella alba Var. Rubra

This plant is easily propagated with stem cuttings or from seeds. Mature fruits are soft and have a single seed. The juice in the fruit has purplish-pink colour. Scientific name of the plant is Basella alba. The one with purple stems is Basella alba Var Rubra. Both belong to Basellaceae family. Common names in India are मायाळू, पुई, वाळी भाजी. It is native to India and Southeast Asia.

Fruit

Crushed fruit

Holostemma ada-kodien . Shidodi, Chirvel (शिदोडी, चिरवेल)

Holostemma ada-kodien is a climbing plant has become quite rare due to excessive collection for its medicinal uses from its natural growing habitats. Now it is declared as an endangered species.

It is a climber which grows on surrounding shrubs or any other support by twining. Very attractive flowers are borne in clusters. The flowers resemble flowers of Calotropis but are more colouful. The central crown of the flower is edible. Flowers are pleasantly scented. The fruit contains many seeds having floss at one end. The seed dispersal is by wind. It is a host plant for Common Tiger butterfly caterpillars.

This climber can be propagated with stem cuttings, root cuttings and also with seeds. Its scientific name is Holostemma ada-kodien (Syn: Holostemma annulare) and it belongs to Asclepiadaceae family.

Seed pod

Gloriosa superba (Lily of Glory)

Lily of Glory (Gloriosa superba) is a climber with most beautiful flowers. It is native to India. Its common name in Marathi is Kal-lavi. Entire plant is poisonous and roots are most toxic. Though poisonous, it is said to have certain medicinal properties. Its Sanskrit name is Agnishikha; meaning a flame. Young flowers have yellow petals. They start getting red from their tips and literally resemble flames. As the flowers mature, petals turn completely red.

Gloriosa superba

Gloriosa superba root tubers

The climber rises on a support by clasps provided on the leaf tips. Its flowering season is in monsoon. Flowering is most profuse at the time of Ganesh Chaturthi. These flowers are used to adorn Ganesh and Gouri idols. After rains, somewhere in October, the plant goes dormant; only to start new growth next monsoon. Lily of Glory can be propagated with seeds or by division of root tubers.

Leaf tip clasp

Grown in a balcony

Gloriosa superba

Gloriosa superba

Gloriosa superba pods

Gloriosa superba pod and seeds

Air Potato (Dioscorea bulbifera)

Air potato  (Dioscorea bulbifera), also known as Vine potato, is a true Yam. In Sanskrit, air potato is named as Varahi, while in Marathi it is called as Karanda and in Malayalam it is Kaachil. It is a large perennial vine with underground tubers which are edible. As monsoon ends, the vine starts withering and, around November, it goes dormant. In April the underground tubers start new growth again. Its heart shaped leaves are quite attractive. The stems are fluted and as they grow, they look as if they are twisted.

Dioscorea bulbifera vine

Root tubers

This climber has bulbils that grow in leaf axils of the vine and are called as 'Air potato'. These bulbils are also edible. When cooked, they taste somewhat like potatoes; hence the common name. These climbers which are found growing naturally in Konkan region of Maharashtra, India are very dark brown in colour and their skin is covered with many wart-like rough protuberances. There is a variety with bulbils which are very bitter.

Fluted and twisted stem with bulbil growing from the leaf axil.

Bulbils from Konkan region.

On my visit to Nainital. In Uttarakhand, India, I saw a vegetable vendor selling bulbils looking almost like potatoes. These had hardly any wart-like outgrowth on them. I have succeeded in growing them in the Konkan area. Here they grow a bit darker than the original ones, which may be due to climate, but the taste has not changed.

Bulbils from Nainital

Inflorescence of this climber is pendant with clusters of tiny flowers. The fruit is a capsule.

Inflorescence

Capsule of Dioscorea bulbifera

Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth has developed a variety which is very light coloured but has wart-like growth on them.

Dioscorea bulbifera var. developed by Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth

This plant is native to India. It is propagated with bulbils collected in the previous year. The harvested bulbils must be stored in well ventilated bags. In plastic bags they get affected with fungus and would be useless for consumption or for propagation.

Abrus precatorius - A climber with poisonous seeds and edible leaves

The seeds of Abrus precatorius (family Fabaceae), commonly known as Jequirity or Crab's Eye in English, Gunj (Marathi), Rati (Sanskrit) and Chanoti  (Gujarati), are colourful and poisonous. It is a medium size evergreen climber which is native to India.

The colourful, poisonous seeds of Gunj!

The medium -sized Gunj climber!
(Image credit : Forest & Kimm Star)

In ancient times these seeds were used as a standard weight to weigh gold. In some countries, the seeds are used to make jewelry by the indigenous peoples. Though the seeds are poisonous, the leaves of this plant are edible, often being added to Betel leaf  ‘Vida’, or chewing paan. The leaves taste sweet. 

Edible & sweet!

The common variety has seeds which are mainly red with a prominent black spot, and, there is a variety with completely white seeds also. 

The white-seeded variety