# Sea beet
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{{Short description|Subspecies of beet (terrestrial)}}
{{Infraspeciesbox
|name = Sea beet
|image = Beta vulgaris maritima02.jpg
|genus = Beta
|species = vulgaris
|subspecies = maritima
|authority = ([L.](/source/Carl_Linnaeus)) [Arcang.](/source/Giovanni_Arcangeli)
}}
The '''sea beet''', '''''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''maritima''''' (L.) Arcangeli.,[Lange, W., W. A. Brandenburg and T.S.M. De Bock. 1999. Taxonomy and cultonomy of beet (Beta vulgaris L.). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 130:81-96.] is an Old World [perennial](/source/perennial) plant with [edible leaves](/source/edible_leaves), leading to the common name '''wild spinach'''.
==Description==
Sea beet is an erect and sprawling perennial plant up to {{Convert|80|cm}} high with dark green, leathery, untoothed, shiny[{{Cite book |last=Francis-Baker |first=Tiffany |title=Concise Foraging Guide |date=2021 |publisher=[Bloomsbury](/source/Bloomsbury_Publishing) |isbn=978-1-4729-8474-6 |series=[The Wildlife Trusts](/source/The_Wildlife_Trusts) |location=London |pages=51}}] leaves. The lower leaves are wavy and roughly triangular while the upper leaves are narrow and oval. Blooming in summer, the inflorescence is borne on a thick, fleshy grooved stem in a leafy spike. The individual flowers are [hermaphroditic](/source/hermaphroditic), green and tiny with the sepals thickening and hardening around the fruits.[{{cite book |last1=McClintock |first1=David |last2=Fitter |first2=R.S.R. |year=1961 |title=The Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers |publisher=Collins |location=London |page=44 }}] They are [wind-pollinated](/source/wind-pollinated).
== Taxonomy ==
The species was previously of the [Chenopodiaceae](/source/Chenopodiaceae). [Carl Linnaeus](/source/Carl_Linnaeus) first described ''[Beta vulgaris](/source/Beta_vulgaris)'' in 1753; in the second edition of ''[Species Plantarum](/source/Species_Plantarum)'' in 1762, he divided the species into wild and cultivated varieties, giving the name ''Beta maritima'' to the wild taxon.[{{cite web |last=Lange |first=W. |year=1996 |title=International Beta Genetic Resources Network |url=http://www.bioversityinternational.org/fileadmin/bioversity/publications/pdfs/68_International%20Beta%20Genetic%20Resources%20Network.pdf |accessdate=9 July 2011 |publisher=Bioversity International |page=24 |quote=In the second edition of Species Plantarum (1762), the species was split up into wild and cultivated materials. The wild taxon was named ''Beta maritima'', and the cultivated material remained to be split up into varieties carrying Latin names.}}]
The sea beet is the wild ancestor of common [vegetable](/source/vegetable)s such as [beetroot](/source/beetroot), [sugar beet](/source/sugar_beet), and [Swiss chard](/source/chard).
== Distribution and habitat ==
Sea beet is found in maritime locations in [Europe](/source/Europe), northern [Africa](/source/Africa), and southern [Asia](/source/Asia).[{{cite web |work=Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora |url=https://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/plant/beta-vulgaris-subsp-maritima |title=''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''maritima'' |publisher=Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland and Biological Records Centre |accessdate=22 March 2020 |archive-date=21 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121091311/https://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/plant/beta-vulgaris-subsp-maritima |url-status=dead }}] It grows at the top of sand and pebble beaches, at the drift-line on saltmarshes, on sea-walls, coastal rocks and cliffs. It also occurs on wasteland near the sea, and occasionally on rubbish tips and roadsides inland.[{{cite web|title=Annual vegetation of drift lines |publisher=JNCC |url=https://sac.jncc.gov.uk/habitat/H1210/ |accessdate=18 March 2020}}]
It requires moist, well-drained soils, and does not [tolerate shade](/source/Shade_tolerance). However, it is able to tolerate relatively high levels of sodium in its environment.[{{cite book |url=https://www.springer.com/life+sciences/plant+sciences/book/978-1-4614-0841-3 |title=Beta Maritima: The Origin of Beets |publisher=Springer |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4614-0841-3 |quote=The volume will be completely devoted to the sea beet, that is, the ancestor of all the cultivated beets. The wild plant, growing mainly on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, remains very important as source of useful traits for beet breeding.}}]
==Uses==
Its leaves have a pleasant texture and taste, being good served raw or cooked (minus the tough stems), similar to [spinach](/source/spinach).