CIlENOPODIACEyE 3OI 



4. Leaf beets. 

 (d) Chard or Swiss chard. 

 (b) Ornamental or foHage beets. 



The Wild Beet. . Along the coast of southern Europe, 

 there grows a perennial sea beet (Beta marilima) with a 

 tough, slender root. It is considered by some that the culti- 

 vated groups of beets have been derived from some form of 

 this wild beet. 



SUGAR BEET 



Habit. — The sugar beet is a biennial, storing up food the 

 first }car in the crown (fleshy stem) and tap root from which 

 aerial shoots are produced the second year. 



Root. -The "beet" itself is, for the most part, an enlarged 

 tap root. The "crown" of the beet is developed from 

 hypocotyl. The root part of the beet may be distinguished 

 from the hypocotyl portion (stem) by the two opposite, longi- 

 tudinal rows of secondary roots (Fig. 4). The tap root 

 extends almost straight downward, and the lower portion be- 

 comes small and thread-like and commonly reaches a depth 

 of 4 feet and often 6 or 7 feet. The lateral roots and 

 rootlets are very abundant. The first 6 to 8 inches of the 

 root, however, are almost free of side roots. The upper 

 laterals are the largest of the branch roots and extend farth- 

 est in the soil, spreading almost horizontally 2 to 3 feet. The 

 lower laterals are more vertical, and those near the very tip 

 almost parallel with the tap root. 



Stems. — The upper part (crown) of the sugar beet is 

 hypocotyl, i.e., stem. This is a very much shortened fleshy 

 stem with the leaves crowded at the apex. The second year, 

 it sends up, from terminal and axillary buds, stout, angular, 

 branching stems to a height of 3 or 4 feet; the.se stems give rise 

 to flowering branches (Fig. 119). 



