Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima

Sea beet, Sea Beet

Family: Chenopodiaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Sea beet is a naturalized perennial found in coastal California regions including the Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California, Channel Islands, western Transverse Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges in moist sandy places and disturbed areas at elevations below 300 meters. Flowering from February to September, this plant produces small greenish-white flowers in compact clusters. Growing with simple stems up to 80 centimeters tall, it develops fibrous roots that occasionally become slightly swollen. Its leaves are oblanceolate, with petioles approximately the same length as the blade, typically less than 10 centimeters long. The fruit develops in clusters of 5 to 11 small round structures, each 3 to 5 millimeters in diameter.

Habitat: Moist sandy places, disturbed areas

Bloom period: Feb-Sep

Elevation: < 300 m

Bioregions: CCo, SnFrB, SCo, ChI, WTR, PR

California counties: Riverside, Los Angeles, San Diego, Imperial, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Napa, Contra Costa

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.