Beta trigyna

Waldst. & Kit.

Amaranthaceae Edible: Leaves, Root 301 iNaturalist observations

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

Summary

Beta trigyna, called the Caucasian wild beet and the Turkish wild beet, is a species of Beta native to Bulgaria, Iran, Romania, the Transcaucasus, Turkey (including the European portion), Turkmenistan, Ukraine (including Crimea), and the former Yugoslavia, and occurring in waste places elsewhere in Europe. It is a hexaploid (2n=54) that usually reproduces by apomixis.

Description

Beta trigyna is a non-frost-hardy perennial growing to 0.9 m tall by 0.5 m wide. Flowers appear June to July with seeds ripening August to September. The plant is hermaphroditic and wind-pollinated. It grows in light sandy, medium loamy, or heavy clay soils with good drainage, tolerating mildly acidic to mildly alkaline and saline soils. Full sun is required and moist soil is preferred.

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves Root Edible Uses: Root. It is supposed to be edible. Leaves - raw or cooked. Although we have found no records of their edibility, the plant belongs to a genus where the leaves are often used as food. The leaves of this species make an acceptable spinach.

Traditional Uses

The leaves are fried in oil and eaten. The leaves are used for sarma in Turkey. They are rolled around a filling of rice or minced meat.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

None known

Distribution

It is a temperate plant.

Where It Grows

Britain, Europe, Iran, Hungary, Mediterranean, Turkey, Türkiye, Ukraine,

Cultivation

Succeeds in most soils but prefers a light neutral to alkaline soil. A very tolerant plant, it has survived considerable neglect on our Cornwall trial grounds, succeeding in dense grass growth.

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 3 weeks at 15°c. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer. If you have sufficient seed, it can be sown outdoors in situ in mid to late spring.

Other Uses

None known Special Uses

Other Information

It is cultivated.

Notes

Probably all Beta are one species and 2 main forms - Cicla - for leaves, and Contiva - for roots. Also put in the family Chenopodiaceae.

Synonyms

Beta cycla Pall.

Also Known As

Kir ispanagi, Mancar, Sut mancar

References (7)

Ari, S., et al, 2015, Ethnobotanical survey of plants used in Afyonkarahisar-Turkey. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 11:84
Descr. icon. pl. Hung. 1:34, t. 35. 1800-1801
Dogan, Y., et al, 2015, Of the importance of a leaf: the ethnobotany of sarma in Turkey and the Balkans. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 11:56
Ertug, F, Yenen Bitkiler. Resimli Türkiye Florası -I- Flora of Turkey - Ethnobotany supplement
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/

Show all 7 references

Rivera, D. et al, 2006, Gathered Mediterranean Food Plants - Ethnobotanical Investigations and Historical Development, in Heinrich M, Müller WE, Galli C (eds): Local Mediterranean Food Plants and Nutraceuticals. Forum Nutr. Basel, Karger, 2006, vol 59, pp 18–74
Zeven, A. C. & de West, J. M. J., 1982, Dictionary of cultivated plants and their regions of diversity. Wageningen. p 88