Apoorva Arora
Last Activity: 10 Years ago
Beta vulgaris(beet) is a plant in theChenopodiaceae family(which is now included inBetoideaesubfamily).It has numerous cultivated varieties, the most well-known of which is the root vegetable known as thebeetrootor garden beet. Other cultivated varieties include the leaf vegetablechard; thesugar beet, used to producetable sugar; andmangelwurzel, which is afoddercrop. Three subspeciesare typically recognised. All cultivated varieties fall into the subspeciesBeta vulgarissubsp.vulgaris.Beta vulgarissubsp. maritima, commonly known as thesea beet, is the wild ancestor of these and is found throughout the Mediterranean, the Atlantic coast of Europe, theNear East, andIndia. A second wild subspecies,Beta vulgarissubsp.adanensis, occurs fromGreecetoSyria.