1,089 bytes added
, 14:35, 13 September 2007
{{Taxobox | color = lightgreen
| name = Sea Beet
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Caryophyllales]]
| familia = [[Amaranthaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Beta (plant)|Beta]]''
| species = ''[[Beta vulgaris|B. vulgaris]]''
| subspecies = '''''maritima'''''
| trinomial = ''Beta vulgaris'' ssp. ''maritima''
}}
The '''sea beet''' (''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''maritima'') is a member of the family [[Chenopodiaceae]], and is the wild ancestor of common [[vegetables]] such as [[beetroot]], [[sugar beet]], and [[chard|Swiss chard]]. Its leaves have a pleasant texture and taste when served raw or cooked.
It is a [[perennial plant]] which grows up to 1.2 m, and flowers from July until September. Its flowers are [[hermaphroditic]], and wind pollinated. It lives in the wild along some shores in [[Great Britain]]. It requires moist, well-drained soils, and does not tolerate shade.
It is a maritime plant able to tolerate relatively high levels of sodium in its environment.
[[Category:Leaf vegetables]]
{{vegetable-stub}}