Leaf
Liliane Roubaudi, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0
Beetroot
Beta vulgaris L.
Also known as: Beet, Chard
Family: Amaranthaceae
30 cm as a rosette, up to 1.5 m in flower in the 2nd year
Grown in vegetable gardens and as a field crop; wild form on the coast
Flowering: June – September
Full sun
Hardy, withstands light frost
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Red beetroot, chard (Swiss chard) and sugar beet are all the same species, selected to emphasise either the root, the leaves or the sugar content.
🍃 Leaves
Broad, glossy, often tinged with red at the base, in a rosette
🌸 Flowers
Tiny, greenish, grouped in spikes along long flowering stems
🍎 Fruits
Hard glomerule containing several seeds
🪵 Bark
Fleshy, swollen taproot (the part eaten), upright flowering stem in the 2nd year
🗺️ Distribution
Wild form on the Channel, Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts; widely grown throughout France
🐝 Value for pollinators
Inconspicuous flowers, mainly wind-pollinated
✂️ Horticultural uses
Root vegetable for the kitchen garden (red beetroot), fodder or industrial crop (sugar beet) depending on the variety
⚠️ Possible toxicity
No known toxicity — root and leaves edible
🌿 Other Amaranthaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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