Home

Essential Oils

Absolutes

Herbs and Spices

Seeds

Wild Weeds

Cold Pressed Oils

Floral Water

Steam Distillation

Latin Name Index

Post Fees

Terms and how do you Purchase?

Progress 2000

Measurements

Simple Measures

Links

Sign Guestbook

View Guestbook

Latin (Botanical) name: Beta vulgaris L.

Family: Chenopodiaceae

Common name: Beta, Beet, Dirs el-kalb, Salq, Silq, Figl bou-leil.

Origin: Egypt

Plant description:

CHENOPODIACEAE Vent. : Leaves flat, broad. Herbs. Fruit surrounded by narrow, almost free perianth-segments, connate at the base only. Flowers rather large, sessile, in spikes.

BETA L. : Plants with broad leaves and sessile flowers in leafy spikes. Root in cultivated varieties fleshy. Flowers perfect with 5-fid perianth, at base connate with the fruit.

BETA VULGARIS L. : Annual or biennial herb with simple leaves. Comprises numerous wild and cultivated varieties, among these in Egypt :

A.       Perianth-segments about as long as the diameter of the fruit, rounded triangular, not or hardly keeled, with soft base…. subsp. perennis.

+ Plant with scattered hairs below…. v. pilosa.

++ Plant glabrous.

1.       Inflorescence with leafy bracts to the very summit, bracts longer than flowers…. v. foliosa.

2.       Upper flowers with inconspicuous bracts…. v. glabra.

B.       Perianth-segements longer than the diameter of the fruit, subulate, spathulate, or narrowly spoon-shaped, conspicuously keeled, with bony base…. subsp. vulgaris.

Here several cultivated varieties.

subsp. perennis (L.) Aellen (= Beta perennis (L.) Freyn, Beta maritima L., Beta vulgaris L. subsp. maritima (L.) Arcangeli). : Comprises the following wild-growing varieties :

v. pilosa (Del.) Aellen : with a distinct main stem and thin root. Leaves short and broad. Plant with scattered hairs below.

v. foliosa (Ehrenb.) Aellen : Similar, but plant glabrous and more densely leafy. Weed.

v. glabra (Del.) Aellen : Procumbent, diffusely branched, without any distinct main stem. Fruits very often deciduous in the lower part while the branches continue flowering in the upper part, plant hence of a naked aspect.

subsp. vulgaris Thell. : Here some varieties, cultivated for root, leaves, etc.

Source: STUDENTS’ FLORA OF EGYPT second edition, by VIVI TÄCKHOLM, D. Sc. (Stockholm) Professor of Systematic Botany, Faculty of Science, Cairo University. Published by Cairo University. Printed by COOPERATIVE PRINTING COMPANY Beirut, 1974.

Propagation: Fruits (seeds), or roots.

Last Update June 8^th, 2002.

Botanical Family.

Genus.

Organic Chemistry.

Fluid and Tincture.

Archive.

Product Photo.

Species List.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Z