Beta nana (Beet)

Overview

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Vulnerable

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Beet

Description

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Family Chenopodiaceae

Herbs annual , subshrubs , or shrubs , rarely perennial herbs or small trees . Stems and branches sometimes jointed (articulate ) ; indumentum of vesicular hairs (furfuraceous or farinose ), ramified (dendroid), stellate , rarely of glandular hairs, or plants glabrous . Leaves alternate or opposite, exstipulate , petiolate or sessile; leaf blade flattened, terete , semiterete, or in some species reduced to scales . Flowers monochlamydeous , bisexual or unisexual (plants monoecious or dioecious, rarely polygamous) ; bracteate or ebracteate . Bractlets (if present) 1 or 2, lanceolate, navicular , or scale-like. Perianth membranous, herbaceous, or succulent, (1-) 3-5-parted; segments imbricate, rarely in 2 series, often enlarged and hardened in fruit, or with winged , acicular , or tuberculate appendages abaxially, seldom unmodified (in tribe Atripliceae female flowers without or with poorly developed perianth borne between 2 specialized bracts or at base of a bract) . Stamens shorter than or equaling perianth segments and arranged opposite them; filaments subulate or linear , united at base and usually forming a hypogynous disk, sometimes with interstaminal lobes ; anthers dorsifixed , incumbent in bud, 2-locular, extrorse , or dehiscent by lateral , longitudinal slits, obtuse or appendaged at apex. Ovary superior, ovoid or globose , of 2-5 carpels, unilocular ; ovule 1, campylotropous; style terminal , usually short, with 2(-5) filiform or subulate stigmas, rarely capitate, papillose , or hairy on one side or throughout. Fruit a utricle, rarely a pyxidium (dehiscent capsule) ; pericarp membranous, leathery, or fleshy , adnate or appressed to seed. Seed horizontal, vertical , or oblique , compressed globose, lenticular , reniform , or obliquely ovoid; testa crustaceous , leathery, membranous, or succulent; embryo annular , semi-annular, or spiral , with narrow cotyledons; endosperm much reduced or absent; perisperm abundant or absent.

Probably about 100 genera and 1400 species (depending on taxonomic opinions ) : mainly in arid areas, deserts, and coastal and saline habitats of N and S Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America; 42 genera (two endemic, two introduced ) and 190 species (21 endemic, six introduced) in China.

Many species of Chenopodiaceae are adapted to, and are major components of, arid or ruderal environments. They are often intimately involved with the daily life of people. For example, Beta vulgaris is one of the most important sources for sugar ; Chenopodium quinoa is a new high-protein crop ; Spinacia oleracea and Beta vulgaris are excellent vegetables; Dysphania ambrosioides and Salsola collina are used medicinally; seeds of Agriophyllum squarrosum are called "sand-rice" locally and are edible; seeds of Corispermum declinatum are used for making gin; the ash of Halogeton arachnoideus and some species of Salsola contains soda which is used in noodle-making; and Anabasis aphylla can be used as an insecticide . Many species are important as animal forage in desert, semidesert, and steppe regions, and some species make good windbreaks and soil binders. Haloxylon ammodendron has been used extensively in biological reconditioning of the desert.[1]

Genus Beta

Herbs, annual , biennial, or perennial , often with fleshy , thickened roots , glabrous throughout. Stems erect or procumbent , not jointed , not armed , not fleshy. Leaves alternate, petiolate or sessile; blade ovate-cordate to rhombic-cuneate, margins ± entire, apex obtuse . Inflorescences spikelike cymes or glomerules , ebracteate at least in distal 1/2. Flowers bisexual , bracteate ; perianth segments 3-5, distinct , sometimes petaloid , rounded or keeled abaxially, wings and spines absent; stamens 5; ovary semi-inferior; stigmas usually 2-3(-5), connate basally. Fruiting structures achenes, connate with receptacle, often enclosed by swollen perianth. Seeds horizontal, orbicular or reniform ; seed coat dark brown, smooth ; embryo ± annular , perisperm copious . x = 9.

Species ca. 6: introduced ; Eurasia .

Beta is widely distributed and is known especially for the economically important Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris, the commonly cultivated beet. The forms of the beets introduced in North America and established in the wild occupy both inland and maritime habitats .

The taxonomy of the genus is complicated by a long history of cultivation in which selective breeding has caused a bewildering array of diverse morphologies. In looking at the differences between the two forms of Beta that occasionally become established in waste places in North America, it is tempting to segregate the clearly distinct forms as different species. However, a number of researchers documenting the variation within the complex (B . V. Ford-Lloyd and J. T. Williams 1975; H. Van Kijk and B. Desplanque 1999) agree that the range of variation stretches along a continuum between the two extreme types defined by the maritima and vulgaris groups. The morphological lineage assigned here to subsp. maritima is usually considered ancestral to the cultivated forms of beet included within subsp. vulgaris.[2]

Habitat

Ecology: B . nana is a high altitude montane species which grows on limestone in areas of short, open turf , often close to snow patches (Strid 1995). It is a perennial hermaphrodite and a self-pollinating inbreeder, which flowers from June to August (Strid 1995). It is an inconspicuous diploid (Frantzn and Gustavsson 1983) plant species, with a small rosette of leaves approximately 1020 cm in diameter, depending on the fertility of the soil. The plant is said to be self-fertile , producing few seed stalks with 1025 flowers per spike between June and August. The monogerm seedballs dehisce to the ground in the vicinity of the seed plant while still green.

The general habitat for B. nana is in closed or open depressions with relatively moist soil above 1800 m asl. The climate at this altitude is cool and moist because clouds often build up around the mountains. The subpopulations are mainly found on ranges facing east or northeast where temperatures are lower during the summer afternoons. Plants also grow in crevices between rocks and in disturbed areas, such as rough tracks or severely grazed open plant communities. The prostrate growth habit protects the head of the storage root from being damaged by grazing animals (Dale 1980, 1981; Frese et al. 2009). However, it is possible that a certain degree of grazing may keep the associated flora short, thereby promoting the survival of the species. Dale (1980) noted that germination of the seed has proved difficult and assumed that the extremes of temperatures in the natural habitat, leaching of inhibitors, as well as enzymes in the gut of animals, may all play a part in successful germination. [3].

List of Habitats:

6 Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs , mountain peaks)

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Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota () - Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Plantae () - Haeckel, 1866 - Plants
  - Subkingdom: Viridaeplantae () - Cavalier-Smith, 1981
    - Phylum: Tracheophyta () - Sinnott, 1935 Ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - Vascular Plants
      - Subphylum: Euphyllophytina ()
        Infraphylum: Radiatopses () - Kenrick & Crane, 1997
        Class: Magnoliopsida () - Brongniart, 1843 - Dicotyledons
        Subclass: Caryophyllidae () - Takhtajan, 1967
        Superorder: Caryophyllanae () - Takhtajan, 1967
        Order: Caryophyllales () - Perleb, 1826
        Suborder: Chenopodiineae ()
        Family: Chenopodiaceae () - Ventenat, 1799 - chnopodes, goosefoot
        Subfamily: Chenopodioideae ()
        Tribe: Beteae ()
        Genus: Beta () - C. Linnaeus, 1753 - Beet, chard [derivation uncertain, possibly from Celtic name for red root]
        Specific epithet: nana - Boiss. & Heldr.
        Botanical name: - Beta nana Boiss. & Heldr.

Notes

Publishing author : Boiss. & Heldr. Publication : Diagn. Pl. Orient. ser. 1, 7: 82 1846 [Jul-Oct 1846]

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Beta nana Boiss. & Heldr. is a secondary wild relative of cultivated beets, B . vulgaris L. ssp. vulgaris (leaf, garden, fodder and sugar beet groups) (classified in section Nanae Ulbrich) (Frese 2004).

Kadereit et al. (2006) analysed a representative sample of Beta species with 29 nuclear ribosomal ITS1 sequences, as well as four representatives of Hablitzieae as an outgroup and found B. nana to be closely related to species in Beta section Corollinae. They suggested merging Beta section Nanae into section Corollinae.[3].

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Beta

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 144 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

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Notes

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Contributors

Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
Frese, L., Maxted, N. & Economou, G. 2011. Beta nana. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 30January2012.
IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal December 01, 2007:

Identifiers

Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 1
Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-506574
Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13738016
Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:164481-1
GRIN Nomen Number: 7053
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 506574
International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 164481-1
IUCN ID: 195051
U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: BENA2
Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 25174

Footnotes

Gelin Zhu, Sergei L. Mosyakin & Steven E. Clemants "Chenopodiaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 5 Page 352. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Leila M. Shultz "Beta". in Flora of North America Vol. 4 Page 258, 261, 266. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Frese, L., Maxted, N. & Economou, G. 2011. Beta nana. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 30 January 2012. [back]

Beta nana

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Chenopodiaceae

Genus Beta

Habitat

Taxonomy

Notes

Similar Species

Members of the genus Beta

More Info

Further Reading

Notes

Contributors

Data Sources

Identifiers

Footnotes