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Malabar Spinach
Malabar Spinach

Christmas Fern
Christmas Fern



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Malabar Spinach
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Christmas Fern

Compare Malabar Spinach and Christmas Fern

What is

Life Span

Perennial
Perennial

Type

Vegetable
Fern

Origin

Southeastern Asia, India
North America, Northeastern United States

Types

Red Malabar Spinach, Green Malabar Spinach
Polystichum acrostichoides

Number of Varieties

510
0 40000
👆🏻

Habitat

Hot climate regions, Humid climates
Boggy areas, By seashore, Coastal Regions, Moist woods, Swamps

USDA Hardiness Zone

-99993-8
0 99
👆🏻

AHS Heat Zone

12*7
8-1

Sunset Zone

H1, H2, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Habit

Vining/Climbing
Clump-Forming

Information

Plant Size

Minimum Height

2.40 cm30.50 cm
0 3900
👆🏻

Minimum Width

24.00 cm45.70 cm
0 6350
👆🏻

Plant Color

Flower Color

Red, Green, Orange Red
-

Flower Color Modifier

Bicolor
Bicolor

Fruit Color

White, Ivory
-

Leaf Color in Spring

Green, Light Green
Green

Leaf Color in Summer

Green, Dark Green
Green, Dark Green

Leaf Color in Fall

Purple, Gray Green
Green, Dark Green

Leaf Color in Winter

Purple, Gray Green
Dark Green

Shape

Leaf Shape

Heart-shaped
Pinnate

Thorns

Season

Plant Season

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Growing Conditions

Sunlight

Full Sun, Partial Sun, Partial shade
Full Sun, Partial shade

Growth Rate

Fast
Medium

Type of Soil

Clay, Loam
Loam

The pH of Soil

Neutral
Acidic, Neutral

Soil Drainage

Well drained
Average

Bloom Time

-
Indeterminate

Repeat Bloomer

Tolerances

Drought
Drought, Wet Site

Care

Where to Plant?

Ground
Container, Ground

How to Plant?

Leaf Cutting, Seedlings
Divison, Spores

Plant Maintenance

Medium
Medium

Watering Plants

Watering Requirements

Do not let dry out between waterings, Requires consistently moist soil
Requires a lot of watering, Requires regular watering, Requires watering in the growing season, Water Deeply

In Summer

Average Water
Lots of watering

In Spring

Moderate
Moderate

In Winter

Average Water
Average Water

Soil

Soil pH

Neutral
Acidic, Neutral

Soil Type

Clay, Loam
Loam

Soil Drainage Capacity

Well drained
Average

Sun Exposure

Full Sun, Partial Sun, Partial shade
Full Sun, Partial shade

Pruning

Remove damaged leaves, Remove dead leaves
Remove damaged leaves, Remove dead branches, Remove dead leaves

Fertilizers

Nitrogen
All-Purpose Liquid Fertilizer

Pests and Diseases

Aphids
Red blotch

Plant Tolerance

Drought
Drought

Facts

Flowers

Showy
-

Flower Petal Number

Single
Single

Fruits

Showy Fruit

Edible Fruit

Fragrance

Fragrant Flower

Fragrant Fruit

Fragrant Leaf

Fragrant Bark/Stem

Showy Foliage

Showy Bark

Foliage Texture

Medium
Medium

Foliage Sheen

Glossy
Matte

Evergreen

Invasive

Self-Sowing

Attracts

-
Insects

Allergy

-
Avoid during Pregnancy, coma, Eye irritation, weakness

Benefits

Uses

Aesthetic Uses

-
Beautification, Landscape Designing, Showy Purposes

Beauty Benefits

-
-

Edible Uses

Environmental Uses

Air purification
Air purification

Plant Benefits

Medicinal Uses

Folate, Iron, Low calories, Low Fats, Rich in Potassium, ß-carotene, Vitamin A, Vitamin C
Nutrients

Part of Plant Used

Leaves
Leaves

Other Uses

Used As Food
Air freshner, Decoration Purposes, Employed in herbal medicine, Showy Purposes, Used for its medicinal properties

Used As Indoor Plant

Used As Outdoor Plant

Garden Design

Container, Edible, Groundcover, Herb / Vegetable, Tropical, Vine
Groundcover, Mixed Border, Rock Garden, Wall

Scientific Name

Botanical Name

BASELLA alba
POLYSTICHUM acrostichoides

Common Name

Ceylon Spinach, Malabar Spinach, Red Malabar Spinach
Christmas Fern

In Hindi

पोई
Christmas Fern

In German

Malabarspinat
Christmas Fern

In French

L’épinard de Malabar
polystic faux-acrostic

In Spanish

espinaca de Malabar
Christmas Fern

In Greek

Malabar Σπανάκι
Christmas Fern

In Portuguese

Malabar espinafre
Christmas Fern

In Polish

Szpinak Malabar
Christmas Fern

In Latin

Spinach Malabar
Christmas Fern

Classification

Kingdom

Plantae
Plantae

Phylum

Magnoliophyta
Filicinophyta

Class

Eudicotyledones
Filicopsida

Order

Caryophyllales
Filicales

Family

Basellaceae
Dryopteridaceae

Genus

Basella
Polystichum

Clade

Angiosperms, Core eudicots, Eudicots
-

Tribe

-
-

Subfamily

-
-

Number of Species

60700
1 27800
👆🏻

Difference Between Malabar Spinach and Christmas Fern

If you are confused whether Malabar Spinach or Christmas Fern are same, here are some features about those plants to help you choose better. Many people think that these two plants have the same characteristics, but one can see Malabar Spinach and Christmas Fern Information and learn more about it. Fertilizers required for proper growth of Malabar Spinach are Nitrogen, whereas for Christmas Fern fertilizers required are All-Purpose Liquid Fertilizer. Hence, one should know the basic difference between Malabar Spinach and Christmas Fern if you are planning to have them in your garden to enhance its beauty.

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Importance of Malabar Spinach and Christmas Fern

Want to have the most appropriate plant for your garden? You might want to know the importance of Malabar Spinach and Christmas Fern. Basically, these two plants vary in many aspects. Compare Malabar Spinach and Christmas Fern as they differ in many characteristics such as their life, care, benefits, facts, etc. Every gardener must at least have the slightest clue about the plants he wants to plant in his garden. Compare their benefits, which differ in many ways like facts and uses. The medicinal use of Malabar Spinach is Folate, Iron, Low calories, Low Fats, Rich in Potassium, ß-carotene, Vitamin A and Vitamin C whereas of Christmas Fern is Nutrients. Malabar Spinach has beauty benefits as follows: while Christmas Fern has beauty benefits as follows: .

Compare Facts of Malabar Spinach vs Christmas Fern

How to choose the best garden plant for your garden depending upon its facts? Here garden plant comparison will help you to solve this query. Compare the facts of Malabar Spinach vs Christmas Fern and know which one to choose. As garden plants have benefits and other uses, allergy is also a major drawback of plants for some people. Allergic reactions of Malabar Spinach are whereas of Christmas Fern have Avoid during Pregnancy, coma, Eye irritation and weakness respectively. Having a fruit bearing plant in your garden can be a plus point of your garden. Malabar Spinach has showy fruits and Christmas Fern has no showy fruits. Also Malabar Spinach is not flowering and Christmas Fern is not flowering . You can compare Malabar Spinach and Christmas Fern facts and facts of other plants too.