Indian Spinach
Indian Spinach
Scientific name: Basella alba L.
Bangla/local name: ‘Puishak’
Taxonomic Position According to Cronquist (1981)
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Division | Magnoliophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Order | Caryophyllalase
|
| Family | Basellaceae
|
| Genus | Basella |
| Species | B. alba |
Botanical Description of Indian Spinach
Habit: Perennial fleshy twining herb
Root: Tap root
Stem: Much branched fleshy twiner
Leaf: Simple, fleshy, petiolate, alternate
Inflorescence: Raceme or spike on a long peduncle
Flower: Actinomorphic, hermaphrodite, regular, Carpel 3, syncarpous, ovary superior.
Fruit: Berry
Table 1.: Indian spinach varieties developed by HRC, BARI
| Serial Number | Name of variety | Released by | Year of Release | Planting time | Yield (t/ha) |
| 1 | BARI Puisak-1 | HRC, BARI | 1999 | Year round | 50-75 |
| 2 | BARI Puisak-2 | HRC, BARI | 2006 | Kharif season | 50-75 |
Economic Importance
Used as vegetable