Sea Beet is a
native
perennial plant of the UK, typically found growing in shingle beaches and coastal areas, to a mature height of up to 120cm.
Sea Beet is a salt-tolerant sub-species of Beet. Sea Beet is the closest wild relative to the cultivars we know as the food crops Sugar Beet, Beetroot and Chard. Sea Beet leaves are sometimes eaten as a vegetable and so the plant is also known as Wild Spinach.
Botanic classification and naming: Sea Beet is a member of the Amaranth (Amaranthaceae) family. The genus name
'Beta' identifies the plant as a Beet, a plant with an enlarged fleshy root and its species name 'vulgaris' means 'common species, coastal'.
Concerns: Note that unsupervised foraging may cause damage to wild plants and misidentification of forage species may be dangerous. The complete removal of a plant from the wild is illegal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981).
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