300 BOTANY OF CROP PLANTS 



Groups of True Spinach. — Kinney places the varieties of 

 true spinach {Spinacia) into four types or groups, which may 

 be distinguished by the following key: 



Key to Groups of Spinach 



"Seeds" prickly, Prickly-seeded group. 

 "Seeds" smooth. 



Ends and lobes of leaves rounded; plants compact in habit, Round-leaved 



group. 

 Ends and lobes of leaves more or less pointed. 



Plants large, leaves long, and spreading on the ground. Thick-leaved 



group. 

 Plants not so spreading, more vase-form and erect, on account of 

 the stronger leaf stalks, Norfolk or Bloomsdale group. 



It was formerly thought that prickly-seeded spinach 

 was more hardy than the smooth-seeded varieties, but a 

 number of the latter have proven quite as hardy as prickly- 

 seeded ones. Norfolk, Bloomsdale, Curled Savoy, and 

 American Curled are important varieties in the Norfolk 

 group; Victoria and Long Standing in the round-leaved group; 

 Broad-leaved Flanders, Viroplay and Long Season in the 

 thick-leaved group. 



Spinach is one of the foremost plants for ** greens," or for 

 use as a pot herb. 



BETA VULGARIS (Beet) 



Botanical Groups. — The above is the only species of the 

 genus Beta of any economic importance. It is a complex 

 species, however, separated into a number of rather distinct 

 groups as follows: 



1. Sugar beet. 



2. Mangel-wurzels or mangels. 



3. Common garden beet. 



