| Beta vulgaris (beet) is a plant which is included in Betoideae subfamily in the Amaranthaceae family. 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 vegetables chard and 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 (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima). The roots and leaves of the beet have been used in traditional medicine to treat a wide variety of ailments. |
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