Beta (plant)

Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. Vulgaris, Altissima Group)

The beet (Beta ) are a genus of flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae ( Amaranthaceae ). From the way beet ( Beta vulgaris), many different crops have emerged. However, not all are as " turnip " designated plant of the genus Beta, the turnip and rutabaga to the genus Brassica are to be expected and not particularly close related with the real beets.

• 5.1 Notes and references

Description

Vegetative characteristics

Beet types ( beta ) are one-, two-year to perennial herbaceous plants. The roots are often heavily thickened, fleshy turnip, but they can also thin, woody and branched. The usually ribbed and striped stems grow prostrate, ascending or erect. The alternate arranged on the stems of leaves are long -stalked to sessile, petioles sometimes thickened. The simple leaf blades are flat and entire, glabrous or sparsely hairy mostly scattered.

Inflorescence and flower

The flowers are arranged in elongated inflorescences aged men individually or in tangles of two to three ( rarely more) flowers in the axil of the bracts. The bracts can be large and leaf-like (for example, beta macrorhiza ) or be very small. The hermaphrodite flowers are radial symmetry. The perianth consists of five fused at the base bloom cladding ( tepals ). The tip of the tepals are either green with thick midrib and top hood -shaped contracted ( Section beta ) or they are petal -like whitish, yellowish or reddish colored ( in section Corollinae ). It is a circle with five stamens present, which are a ring around the ovary and down to a glandular disc ( discus ) are fused. The dust bags are oval. Characteristic of this genus is half under constant ovary. He wears top two or three (rarely up to five ) scars with a papillary surface.

Fruit and seeds

For fruit time hardens the lower half of the perianth or fleshy. They often grows together with the neighboring flowers in the skein. The fruit is enclosed by the perianth and is nestled in the flower base. The horizontal seed is flattened spherical. His leathery seed coat has a smooth or shiny surface. The annular surrounds the embryo abundant endosperm.

Chromosome number

The basic chromosome number is x = 9

Dissemination

Beet species are native to India, North Africa, Europe and Southwest Asia. The wild and cultivated forms of Beta vulgaris but were also common in other parts of the world.

System

The genus Beta was set up in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum, 1 on page 222. The type species is Beta vulgaris L..

The genus Beta belongs to the subfamily Betoideae within the family of Amaranthaceae ( Amaranthaceae ). Previously it was put to the Gänsefußgewächsen ( Chenopodiaceae ), these are now included in the fox tail plants.

The genus Beta is by phylogenetic studies of Kadereit et al. (2006) divided into two sections and contains about seven species:

• Beta section Beta: These species have green tepals with back and rib hood -shaped tip. The tip of the tepals are partially suppressed the fruit and usually longer than the fruit. All wild plants growing on the coasts or in salty places. The classification of this group has often been modified, it has been divided into one to seven species with five to 35 subspecies and varieties. In phylogenetic studies, only two types could be distinguished: Beta macrocarpa cast. Their range includes coasts of the Mediterranean from the southern Iberian Peninsula and northwestern Africa over Italy, Greece and the Aegean Sea to Israel.
• Beet ( Beta vulgaris) L. sl (including beta adanensis Pamukc. ): It is distributed from the Atlantic coasts of Western Europe via the Mediterranean to India. These include the Wild turnip and the cultural forms chard, sugar beet, fodder beet and beetroot.

• Beta lomatogona fish. & CAMeyer: This perennial comes from Turkey via Transcaucasia up in the northwestern Iran before. It grows on rocky slopes and in the arable land
• Beta macrorhiza: Stev. It is a perennial plant. It is distributed from the central to Turkey in the north-western Iran and grows on rocky slopes and along field margins.
• Beta corolliflora Zosimovic ex Buttler: This perennial plant is common from Eastern Turkey to the north-western Iran. It grows on rocky slopes and field margins.
• Beta trigyna Waldst. & Kit. This perennial plant is common from the Balkans to the Ukraine, Turkey and the Caucasus to Iran. Naturalized it also occurs in the British Isles and France.
• Beta nana Boiss. & Heldr. This perennial plant is endemic to the mountains of Greece.

The species also formerly provided to Beta Beta patellaris, Beta procumbens and beta webbiana not belong according to phylogenetic studies here and are now separated as a distinct genus Patellifolia, see the article Betoideae.

Use

The beet ( Beta vulgaris L. subsp. Vulgaris) is economically important as a vegetable plant ( chard, beetroot ), supplied as a sugar plant ( sugar beet), and as a forage crop ( fodder ). Moreover, this type is used as a medicinal plant, ornamental plant, dye- plant and as a renewable resource use.