Beta vulgaris
speciesAt a glance
Sources17 archives
Databases and archives Beta vulgaris's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation20 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility79 478 records↗
OBISOcean Biodiversity Information System45 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI1 203 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics55 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
FooDBThe Metabolomics Innovation Centrecompounds↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
NPASSNat. Product Activity & Species Sourcecompounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype
Paleobiology DatabasePBDB consortiumfossil record↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
The sea beet, Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima ((L.) Arcangeli.Lange, W., W. A. Brandenburg and T.S.M. De Bock. 1999. Taxonomy and cultonomy of beet (Beta vulgaris L.). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 130:81-96.), is a member of the family Amaranthaceae, previously of the Chenopodiaceae. Carl Linnaeus first described Beta vulgaris in 1753; in the second edition of Species Plantarum in 1762, he divided the species into wild and cultivated varieties, giving the name Beta maritima to the wild taxon. The sea beet is native to the coasts of Europe, northern Africa, and southern Asia. The sea beet is the wild ancestor of common vegetables such as beetroot, sugar beet, and Swiss chard. Its leaves have a pleasant texture and taste, being good served raw or cooked, and because of this, it is also known as wild spinach. It is a large perennial plant which grows up to 2 ft, and flowers in the summer. Its flowers are hermaphroditic, and wind-pollinated. It requires moist, well-drained soils, and does not tolerate shade. However, it is able to tolerate relatively high levels of sodium in its environment.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology17
Life cycle & reproduction16
Diet & foraging2
Habitat & environment14
Physiology & chemistry8
Other traits4
Compounds documented for Beta vulgaris across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile5 classes
Documented compounds5 881 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sugars | 13,590 mg/100g | FooDB | |
| Retinol | 7,654 IU | FooDB | |
| Sucrose | 5,250 mg/100g | FooDB | |
| Potassium | 909 mg/100g | FooDB |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Beta vulgaris has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
Besides the big genome in the nucleus, cells carry a small, circular loop of DNA inside the cell's energy factories — the mitochondria. It is inherited almost only from the mother and is a leftover from ancient bacteria that moved into the cell. The mitochondrial markers above (ND*, COX, CYTB…) are read from exactly this loop. Outer ring = one strand, inner ring = the other.
The complete instruction manual Beta vulgaris carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 1849×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database · CCDB · slov-fl · CCDB · brit-fl +13
2n 271×CCDB · CromoCat 2015
2n 361×CCDB · CromoCat 2015
n 99×CCDB · iber-fl · CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · book-ipcn75-78 +1
diploid1×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database
diploid inferred1×PloiDB · genus-scale
Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers
Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type79 523 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions114 of 199 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Uniwersytet Wrocławskilocation not on record | 588 |
| Paris, FR | 303 |
| ROM053location not on record | 109 |
| POL003location not on record | 67 |
| ROM007location not on record | 52 |
| LDlocation not on record | 51 |
| Bern, CH | 51 |
| Santa Barbara, US | 42 |
| Philadelphia, US | 34 |
| Rishon Le Zion, IL | 34 |
| Claremont, US | 28 |
| San Diego, US | 24 |
| MeiseBGlocation not on record | 23 |
| Berlin, DE | 22 |
| Mexico City, MX | 22 |
| MAlocation not on record | 22 |
| València, ES | 21 |
| Karlsruhe, DE | 19 |
| Museo Entomologico de Leonlocation not on record | 18 |
| Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record | 18 |
| Barcelona, ES | 17 |
| SLU Artdatabankenlocation not on record | 17 |
| Yangling, CN | 17 |
| Christchurch, NZ | 16 |
| Moscow State Universitylocation not on record | 16 |
| Nanjing, CN | 16 |
| Riverside, US | 16 |
| Saint Louis, US | 16 |
| Beijing, CN | 14 |
| UIBlocation not on record | 14 |
| US | 13 |
| Helsinki, FI | 12 |
| Turku, FI | 12 |
| Jyväskylä, FI | 11 |
| Kuopio, FI | 11 |
| College of the Atlantic, Museumlocation not on record | 11 |
| BFLlocation not on record | 11 |
| Oskarshamn, SE | 10 |
| Sevilla, ES | 9 |
| GBS RAN - Glavny Botanichesky Sad Rossijskoj Akademii Nauklocation not on record | 9 |
| Görlitz, DE | 9 |
| San Luis Obispo, US | 9 |
| BClocation not on record | 9 |
| Chengdu, CN | 9 |
| Oulu, FI | 8 |
| Auckland, NZ | 8 |
| Mlocation not on record | 8 |
| BDBClocation not on record | 8 |
| ROM023location not on record | 8 |
| Mexico City, MX | 8 |
| Chongqing Museumlocation not on record | 7 |
| Provincia di Livornolocation not on record | 7 |
| Irvine, US | 7 |
| Vitoria, ES | 7 |
| Puerto Ayora, EC | 7 |
| McWane Science Centerlocation not on record | 6 |
| South Kensington, GB | 6 |
| Bronx, US | 5 |
| ASUlocation not on record | 5 |
| Guangzhou, CN | 5 |
| Wuhan, CN | 5 |
| San Jose State University, Museum of Birds and Mammalslocation not on record | 5 |
| PUC-RSlocation not on record | 5 |
| Universidad Católica de Oriente (UCO)location not on record | 5 |
| BRNUlocation not on record | 5 |
| Catalina Island Conservancylocation not on record | 5 |
| Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record | 5 |
| Phoenix, US | 5 |
| Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA)location not on record | 5 |
| Wlocation not on record | 5 |
| Tlalnepantla, MX | 5 |
| Durango, MX | 5 |
| San Sebastián, ES | 5 |
| Mount Annan, AU | 5 |
| DOI/NPS, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Sitelocation not on record | 4 |
| Uppsala, SE | 4 |
| National Museum Waleslocation not on record | 4 |
| GBR006location not on record | 4 |
| Museum Ludovicae Ulricae, Zoology Institute of the University of Uppsalalocation not on record | 4 |
| Pamplona, ES | 4 |
| Salamanca, ES | 4 |
| Olocation not on record | 4 |
| Wellington, NZ | 4 |
| Canberra, AU | 4 |
| Trondheim, NO | 4 |
| Torreón, MX | 4 |
| Ischia Marine Centrelocation not on record | 4 |
| University of New Hampshirelocation not on record | 4 |
| Québec, CA | 3 |
| Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicachlocation not on record | 3 |
| Los Angeles, US | 3 |
| ESP027location not on record | 3 |
| The University of Arizonalocation not on record | 3 |
| Universidad de Caldas (UCaldas)location not on record | 3 |
| Adelaide, AU | 3 |
| Rotorua, NZ | 3 |
| Tilburg, NL | 3 |
| TUR-Alocation not on record | 3 |
| Nijmegen, NL | 3 |
| CJBGlocation not on record | 3 |
| Phyletisches Museum Jenalocation not on record | 3 |
| Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical Universitylocation not on record | 2 |
| Porvoo, FI | 2 |
| HUN003location not on record | 2 |
| Kunming, CN | 2 |
| Severin-McDaniel Insect Collectionlocation not on record | 2 |
| EL PASO, US | 2 |
| Montecillo, Texcoco, MX | 2 |
| San Francisco, US | 2 |
| Entomological Society of Latvialocation not on record | 2 |
| BSBIlocation not on record | 2 |
| Naturalis Biodiversity Centerlocation not on record | 2 |
| UFOPlocation not on record | 2 |
| Awka, NG | 2 |
| Bergen, NO | 2 |
| Bratislava, SK | 2 |
| CICYTEXlocation not on record | 2 |
| Universidad de La Salle (La Salle)location not on record | 2 |
| New Zealand Arthropod Collectionlocation not on record | 2 |
| Burlington, US | 2 |
| Pullman, US | 2 |
| Pamplona, ES | 2 |
| Frauenfeld, CH | 2 |
| Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL)location not on record | 2 |
| Badajoz, ES | 2 |
| Valparaiso, CL | 2 |
| Porrentruy, CH | 2 |
| GMBAlocation not on record | 2 |
| GJOlocation not on record | 2 |
| Loja, EC | 1 |
| TROMlocation not on record | 1 |
| Denver, US | 1 |
| Kew, GB | 1 |
| Dresden, DE | 1 |
| Pocatello, US | 1 |
| Corvallis, US | 1 |
| Linares, MX | 1 |
| Uniwersytet Jagiellońskilocation not on record | 1 |
| Herbario UTCEClocation not on record | 1 |
| Xiamen, CN | 1 |
| DOI/NPS, Colonial National Historical Parklocation not on record | 1 |
| Armidale, AU | 1 |
| Vancouver, CA | 1 |
| WTUlocation not on record | 1 |
| Aarhus, DK | 1 |
| Tromso University Museumlocation not on record | 1 |
| Universite de Montpellierlocation not on record | 1 |
| Alicante, ES | 1 |
| Granada, ES | 1 |
| Jaén, ES | 1 |
| Columbia, US | 1 |
| San Francisco, US | 1 |
| Allentown, US | 1 |
| Lanzhou, CN | 1 |
| Shanghai, CN | 1 |
| Inner Mongolia Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| Universidad del Pais Vasco (UPV/EHU)location not on record | 1 |
| Parkville, AU | 1 |
| Jardín Botánico José Celestino Mutis (JBBJCM)location not on record | 1 |
| Arizona State University Biocollectionslocation not on record | 1 |
| Wuhan, CN | 1 |
| Nagasaki University - Fisherieslocation not on record | 1 |
| Bourges, FR | 1 |
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kewlocation not on record | 1 |
| Uniwersytet Rolniczy im. Hugona Kołłątaja w Krakowielocation not on record | 1 |
| San José, CR | 1 |
| Yaoundé, CM | 1 |
| Porto Alegre, BR | 1 |
| Istituto Agrario Castelnuovolocation not on record | 1 |
| Northridge, US | 1 |
| Ann Arbor, US | 1 |
| Museo della Bonifica di San Donà di Piavelocation not on record | 1 |
| Tartu, EE | 1 |
| Institut und Museum fuer Geologie und Palaeontologielocation not on record | 1 |
| NMBU:MINAlocation not on record | 1 |
| Boise, US | 1 |
| Brookings, US | 1 |
| Edinburgh, GB | 1 |
| Arcata, US | 1 |
| Herbario MAT de la Universidad Politécnica Estatal del Carchilocation not on record | 1 |
| Tampa, US | 1 |
| National Biodiversity Institute, Costa Ricalocation not on record | 1 |
| Brussel, BE | 1 |
| College Park, US | 1 |
| La Paz, MX | 1 |
| PRClocation not on record | 1 |
| Uniwersytet Warszawskilocation not on record | 1 |
| Davis, US | 1 |
| Santa Cruz, US | 1 |
| Angwin, US | 1 |
| KMNlocation not on record | 1 |
| Universidade Federal de Juiz de Foralocation not on record | 1 |
| UNESP-FCAlocation not on record | 1 |
| Göteborg, SE | 1 |
| Logan, US | 1 |
| The Tula Region State Institution of Culture "Tula Museum Association"location not on record | 1 |
| Chicago, US | 1 |
| Sion, CH | 1 |
| Laboratorio de Ictiologialocation not on record | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Beta vulgaris was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Measured at samplingin-field
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.