Before Operation Name That Plant (so-called because it sounds better than "the however- many- genera- of- plants- there- are- in- my- yard challenge") is over, I will have figured out what to call the mystery vegetable that is growing quite abundantly of its own free will along our back garden fence and in between the fig trees.

When GrandDad first pointed it out to me, he called it "Chinese cabbage," but when I tried to look it up in order to find out how to care for it and how to prepare it, I found bok choy, which is not what we have in our yard. On other occasions, he has referred to it as "Chinese spinach," an appellation used for a number of plants. He's also called it just plain "spinach," acknowledging that it's not exactly spinach, but it's green and it's edible and I know what he's talking about when he says it, so the name serves its purpose.

(I need to get my digital camera repaired/replaced. It's annoying to garden-blog without pictures.)

Anywho. The closest match I've found to mystery veggie is basella alba, or malabar spinach. Vine-like? Check. Heart-shaped, semi-succulent leaves? Check. Mild flavor? Check. (I find the taste reminiscent of snow pea pods.) Only mine has tiny yellow flowers, and "alba" means white. So I'm not sure whether mine is a different variety of the same genus, or a completely different plant that just happens to resemble this one.

Meanwhile, it's a tasty addition to a salad, whatever it's called.