Common Names
Common Names in English:
Beet
Description
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.[1]
Taxonomy
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
)
- Plants
- Phylum:
Magnoliophyta
(
)
- Flowering Plants
- Class:
Magnoliopsida
(
)
- Dicotyledons
- Order:
Caryophyllales
(
)
- Family:
Byrrhoidea
(
)
- Subfamily:
Chenopodioideae
(
)
- Subfamily:
Chenopodioideae
(
- Family:
Byrrhoidea
(
- Order:
Caryophyllales
(
- Class:
Magnoliopsida
(
- Phylum:
Magnoliophyta
(
Notes
Name
Status: Accepted Name
. Latest taxonomic
scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000
Place of publication
: P. E. Boissier, Diagn. pl. orient. ser. 1, 7:82. 1846
Name verified on 06-Feb-1987 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 31-Dec-2001
Similar Species
Members of the genus Beta
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 310 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:
B. adanensis (Beet) · B. adenensis · B. alba · B. altissima · B. atriplicifolia (Beet) · B. bengalensis · B. bourgaei · B. brasiliensis · B. campanulata · B. carnulosa · B. chilensis · B. cicla · B. cicla occidentali · B. crispa · B. cycla · B. decumbens · B. diffusa · B. esculenta · B. foliosa · B. hastata · B. hortensis · B. hybrid · B. hybrida · B. intermedia · B. juncea var. japonica 'Mustard Lettuce' (Mustard) · B. lomatogona (Beet) · B. lutea · B. macrocarpa · B. macrorhiza · B. marina · B. maritima · B. maritima subsp. marcosii · B. monodiana · B. nana (Beet) · B. oleracea var. acephala 'Blue Armor' (Kale) · B. orientalis · B. palonga · B. patellaris (Beet) · B. patula (Beet) · B. perennis · B. procumbens (Cultivated Beet) · B. pumila · B. purpurea · B. rapa · B. rapacea · B. rubra · B. sativa · B. stricta · B. sulcata · B. sylvestris · B. triflora · B. trigyna (Caucasian Wild Beet) · B. trojana (Trojan Beet) · B. vulgaris (Red-Fleshed Beetroot) · B. vulgaris '3 Root Grex' · B. vulgaris 'Action' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Albina Vereduna' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Albino' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Alvro Mono' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Always Tender' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Asgrow Wonder' (Beet) · B. vulgaris asiatica · B. vulgaris 'Baby Ball' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Baby Gladiator' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Bietola Da Orto Paonazza D'egitto' · B. vulgaris 'Big Top' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Bikores' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Blankoma White' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Bloody Mary' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Bolivar' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Boltardy' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Bonel' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Boro' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Bull's Blood' (Bull's Blood Giant Ornamental Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Burpee's Golden' (Burpee's Golden Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Burpee's White' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Burpee's Red Ball' · B. vulgaris 'Centurion' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Chariot' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Cheltenham Green Top' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Chicago Red' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Chioggia' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Chioggia Guardsmark' · B. vulgaris cicla (Sicilian Broad-Rib Beet) · B. vulgaris cicla var. cicla · B. vulgaris cicla var. cicla 'Perpetual Spinach' · B. vulgaris cicla var. flavescens · B. vulgaris cicla var. flavescens 'Bright Lights' · B. vulgaris cicla var. flavescens 'Dracaenofolia' · B. vulgaris cicla var. flavescens 'Lucullus' · B. vulgaris cicla var. flavescens 'MacGregor's Favourite' · B. vulgaris cicla var. flavescens 'Rainbow Chard' · B. vulgaris cicla var. flavescens 'Rhubarb Chard' · B. vulgaris convar · B. vulgaris crasa · B. vulgaris crassa · B. vulgaris 'Crimson Globe' · B. vulgaris 'Crimson King' · B. vulgaris 'Crosby's Extra Early Egyptian' (Beet) · B. vulgaris 'Cylinder'
More Info
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Further Reading
- Annales des sciences naturelles. Paris: Fortin, Masson, 1834-1937. FRE url p. 250.
- Ford-Lloyd, B. V. & J. T. Williams. 1975. A revision of Beta section Vulgares (Chenopodiaceae), with new light on the origin of cultivated beets. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 71:92.
- Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984–. Med-Checklist. (L Medit) 1:296.
- Hegi. 1960. Illustrierte Flora von Mittel-Europa. ed. 1:1906-1931; ed. 2:1936-68; ed. 3:1966- (IllF MEur) 3:551.
- Just's botanischer jahresbericht. Systematisch geordnetes repertorium der botanischen literatur aller länder. Berlin, Gebr. Borntraeger, 1874-98; GER url p. 1551, p. 427.
- Le Monde des plantes. Le Mans: Impr. Edmond Monnoyer, 1891-1898. FRE url p. 31.
- Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964–1980. Flora europaea. (F Eur)
- Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1993. Flora europaea, second edition. (F Eur ed2)
- Ford-Lloyd, B. V. and J. T. Williams. 1975. A revision of Beta section Vulgares (Chenopodiaceae), with new light on the origin of cultivated herbs. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 71: 89-102.
Notes
Contributors
- Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed December 01, 2007. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 4 providers.
- USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database]. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL (April 26, 2008)
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal December 01, 2007:
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research
- , IPK Genebank
- The Swedish Museum of Natural History
- , Lund Botanical Museum
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2670539
- 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
- U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: BENA2
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 25174
Footnotes
- Leila M. Shultz "Beta". in Flora of North America Vol. 4 Page 258, 261, 266. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
