page_title: Beta vulgaris
section_title: Taxonomy
hierarchical_section_title: Beta vulgaris / Taxonomy
caption_attribution_description: English: Sea-beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima), rocky shore of Helgoland island Deutsch: Wilde Rübe (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima), Felsküste von Helgoland
context_page_description: Beta vulgaris is a plant which is included in the subfamily Betoideae of the family Amaranthaceae. It is the economically most important crop of the large order Caryophyllales. It has several cultivar groups: the sugar beet, of greatest importance to produce table sugar; the root vegetable known as the beetroot or garden beet; the leaf vegetable known as chard or spinach beet; and mangelwurzel, which is a fodder crop. Three subspecies are typically recognised. All cultivars fall into the subspecies Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris. The wild ancestor of the cultivated beets is the sea beet.
context_section_description: The species description of Beta vulgaris was made in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum, at the same time creating the genus Beta. Linnaeus regarded sea beet, chard and red beet as varieties (at that time, sugar beet and mangelwurzel had not been selected yet). In the second edition of "Species Plantarum" (1762), Linnaeus separated the sea beet as its own species, Beta maritima, and left only the cultivated beets in Beta vulgaris. Today sea beet and cultivated beets are considered as belonging to the same species, because they may hybridize and form fertile offspring. The taxonomy of the various cultivated races has a long and complicated history, they were treated at the rank of either subspecies, or convarieties or varieties. Now rankless cultivar groups are used, according to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants.
  Beta vulgaris belongs to the subfamily Betoideae in family Amaranthaceae (s.l, including the Chenopodiaceae).
  Beta vulgaris is classified into three subspecies:
  Beta vulgaris subsp. adanensis (Pamukç. ex Aellen) Ford-Lloyd & J.T.Williams (Syn.: Beta adanensis Pamukç. ex Aellen): occurring in disturbed habitats and steppes of Southeast Europe (Greece) and Western Asia (Cyprus, Israel, western Syria and Turkey).
  Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima, Sea beet, the wild ancestor of all cultivated beets. Its distribution area reaches from the coasts of Western Europe and the Mediterranean Sea to the Near and Middle East.
  Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris (Syn.: Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla (L.) Arcang., Beta vulgaris subsp. rapacea (Koch) Döll).: all cultivated beets belong to this subspecies. With five Cultivar groups:
  Altissima Group, sugar beet (Syn. B. v. subsp. v. convar. vulgaris var. altissima) - The sugar beet is a major commercial crop due to its high concentrations of sucrose, which is extracted to produce table sugar. It was developed in Germany in the late 18th century after the roots of beets were found to contain sugar in 1747.
  Cicla Group, spinach beet or chard (Syn. B. v. subsp. vulgaris convar. cicla var. cicla)  - The leaf beet group has a long history dating to the second millennium BC. The first cultivated forms were believed to have been domesticated in the Mediterranean, but were introduced to the Middle East, India, and finally China by 850 AD. These were used as medicinal plants in Ancient Greece and Medieval Europe. Their popularity declined in Europe following the introduction of spinach. This variety is widely cultivated for its leaves, which are usually cooked like spinach. It can be found in many grocery stores around the world.
  Flavescens Group, swiss chard (Syn. B. v. subsp. v. convar. cicla. var. flavescens) - Chard leaves have thick and fleshy midribs. Both the midribs and the leaf blades are used as vegetables, often in separate dishes. Some cultivars are also grown ornamentally for their coloured midribs. The thickened midribs are thought to have arisen from the spinach beet by mutation.
  Conditiva Group, beetroot  or garden beet (Syn. B. v. subsp. v. convar. vulgaris var. vulgaris) - This is the red root vegetable that is most typically associated with the word 'beet'. It is especially popular in Eastern Europe where it is the main ingredient of borscht.
  Crassa Group, mangelwurzel (Syn. B. v. subsp. v. convar. vulgaris var. crassa) - This variety was developed in the 18th century for its tubers for use as a fodder crop.
caption: Sea beet (Beta vulgaris subsp maritima) at the shores of Heligoland
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