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What medicinal root is a common vegetable today?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

November 12, 2001

killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~

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The sea beet is a plant native to the Canary and Madeira Islands, the Atlantic and Mediterranean coastline of Europe, and along the Black Sea into Russia. Linnaeus gave it the name, Beta maritima [bee' ta ma rit' i ma], the maritime beet to differentiate it from the common beet, Beta vulgaris. All beets are now considered descended from the sea beet, renamed Beta vulgaris var. maritima.

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When first domesticated, the root was little used for it was described as thick, hard, and of no use once the plant had flowered. Beet leaves were cooked as pot-herbs, both the Romans and Greeks wrote of chard, beets selected for their leafy tops. By the Middle Ages, domesticated beets were of two types--red beets said to be ruled by Saturn and white beets ruled by Jupiter. The juice from macerated roots was felt to have great remedial powers.

Culpeper (Complete Herbal, 1654) believed white beets to be good as a laxative and diuretic. The leaves were applied for headaches and "turnings of the brain", inflammations of the eyes, against all venomous creatures, and when mixed with alum, good for St. Anthony's fire (ergotism, See Herbal Folklore, September 10, 2001). Red beets were said to be good for bloody-flux (amoebic or bacterial dysentery), women's courses, stinking breath caused by bruises or nasal congestion, and yellow jaundice (hepatitis).

There is considerable conjecture as to when the beet root was used for food. Second and third century Roman epicures write of boiling the young roots of wild beets. But the modern globe-shaped root was not described until 1558 in Germany. It was a genetic mutation in seed that had come from Italy, so it was designated the Roman beet.

There are references, generally in cookbooks, that Greeks made votive (special favor) offerings "of lead turnips, silver beets, and gold radishes" at the temple of the Oracle of Delphi. But if such items were found, there is no mention in archaeological records. It would be odd that the Greeks would offer a food to Apollo that they would not eat.

The University of Sussex has two photographs of the sea beet, one in flower. Click on the pictures for larger images.

http://www.geog.sussex.ac.uk/BAR/Biodiversity/seabeet.html

killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~

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Freshly dug beets have a buttery-sweet flavor that even kids will love. You get twice as much for your effort, too: the young, green tops are deliciously nutritious. For fall harvests, plant beets anytime from

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Freshly dug beets have a buttery-sweet flavor that even kids will love. You get twice as much for your effort, too: the young, green tops are deliciously nutritious. Zones: 3 - 9 (-30° F.)

This Item Ships In Both Spring And Fall. Click here - $20 off your first order at Gurneys! [Vegetable Seeds]

Forono Beet

Gurney's Seed and Nursery®

Sugar Sweet and Easy to Slice

Smooth, cylindrical shape--for perfectly round slices every time. Resists bolting, won't go corky or soft if harvest is delayed. 60 DAYS.

Freshly dug beets have a buttery-sweet flavor that even kids will love. You get twice as much for your effort, too: the young, green tops are deliciously nutritious.

Zones: 3 - 9 (-30° F.)

This Item Ships In Both Spring And Fall. Click here - $20 off your first order at Gurneys! [Vegetable Seeds]

All-Time Favorite Beets Offer

Gurney's Seed and Nursery®

Two tasty treats in one!

Freshly dug beets have a buttery sweet flavor that even kids will love. You get twice as much for your effort, too: the young, green tops are deliciously nutritious.

Save $3.25! You get 1 packet each of:

Perfected Detroit: Same great flavor and canning/pickling qualities as Detroit Dark Red, but more uniform. 58 DAYS.

Forono: Smooth, cylindrical shape--for perfectly round slices every time. Resists bolting, won't go corky or soft if harvest is delayed. 60 DAYS. Approx. 400 seeds.

This Item Ships In Both Spring And Fall. Click here - $20 off your first order at Gurneys! [Vegetable Seeds]