Beta vulgaris L. subsp. vulgaris Cicla Group - Chenopodiaceae (also placed in Amaranthaceae) - Swiss chard, **Mangold**, Krautstiel

"With its long-stemmed leaves, up to 30 centimeters long, chard produces a vegetable similar in appearance to [[spinacia_oleracea_l|spinach]]. There are numerous varieties with different leaf colors (pale, yellow, light to dark green, and dark red), and the leaves can be wrinkled or smooth. The leaves and stems are eaten, but not the roots." [[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangold|wikipedia]]

Leaves and stalks develope an peculiar spinach-like earthy flavor on boiling or steaming.

"Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla (BVc, leaf beet) and Beta vulgaris var. rubra (BVr, red beetroot) belong to the
Amaranthaceae family and have been used for centuries as food and medicinal plants." Taxonomically, Beta vulgaris is divided into four important crops: \\
(1) Leaf beet \\
Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla - Swiss chard, leaves and stalk boiled or steamed \\
Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris, convar. cicla, var. cicla - Spinach beet, whole leaves boiled as spinach or raw in salads \\
(2) Fodder beet \\
Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris, convar. crassa - Mangelwurzel, raw as animal food \\
(3) Sugar beet \\
Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris, convar. vulgaris, var. altissima - Sugar beet, commercial crop for industrial sugar production \\
(4) Garden beet \\
[[beta_vulgaris_subsp._vulgaris_conditiva_group|Beta vulgaris L. subsp. vulgaris Conditiva Group]] or Beta vulgaris var. rubra  or Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris, convar. vulgaris, var. vulgaris - Red beetroot, garden beet, boiled or steamed as a food, centrifuged as a juice \\
[Ninfali, Paolino. "Great nutraceutical potential of bioactive compounds from Beta vulgaris cicla and rubra." International Journal on Nutraceuticals, Functional Foods and Novel Foods (2018).]


{{:bietola.jpg?600|}} \\
Swiss chard, Author: Vorzinek, [[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/|CC BY-SA 3.0]] 
[[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blette.JPG|wikimedia]]