Beta vulgaris L.

Family: Chenopodiaceae

Synonym:Beta rosea Steud.

Bengali/Vernacular name: Beet, Beetpalang, Palak.

English name: Garden beet, Common beet.

Description of the plant: A succulent, glabrous herb. Tap root modified into underground tuber. Stem very short, producing basal leaves giving a rosette appearance, leaves long petioled, simple, alternate or spiral on a short stem, often ovate, 20-40 cm long, base attenuate, apex broadly obtuse. Flowers greenish, stalkless, solitary, or 2- to 3-adnate, in axillary spikes or corymbose clusters. 

Plant parts used: Leaf, seed, root.

Herbal uses:Fresh juice extracted from the roots of the plant is taken twice a day for general weakness.

Paste prepared from the leaves of the plant is applied to treat burns and bruises.

Seeds of the plant are used to treat diabetes.

Curry prepared from the roots of the plant is taken for the treatment of constipation.

Beet juice is used as medicine for anaemia and jaundice.

Root juice is used against dandruff and in prevention of hair loss.

A paste made with the leaves of the plant is applied to the cutting wound once a day for two days to treat it.

A decoction prepared from the seedsof the plant is used as a remedy for tumours of the intestines.

The juice extracted from the roots of the plant is said to help in the treatment of tumours, leukaemia and other forms of cancer such as cancer of the breast, oesophagus, glands, head, intestines, leg, lip, lung, prostate, rectum, spleen, stomach, and uterus.

Distribution: The plant is sparsely cultivated as a winter crop.

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