Beta vulgaris (
beet) is a plant in the
Amaranthaceae family (which is now included in
Betoideae subfamily). It has numerous cultivated varieties, the most well known of which is the root vegetable known as the
beetroot or garden beet. Other cultivated varieties include the leaf vegetable
chard; the
sugar beet, used to produce
table sugar; and
mangelwurzel, which is a
fodder crop. Three
subspecies are typically recognised. All cultivated varieties fall into the subspecies
Beta vulgaris subsp.
vulgaris.
Beta vulgaris subsp.
maritima, commonly known as the
sea beet, is the wild ancestor of these and is found throughout the Mediterranean, the Atlantic coast of Europe, the
Near East, and
India. A second wild subspecies,
Beta vulgaris subsp.
adanensis, occurs from
Greece to
Syria.