Beta vulgaris ssp. cicla (Chard)

Chard is often called Swiss chard to distinguish it from French spinach varieties. It is closely related to beets (Beta vulgaris), and a popular and productive garden vegetable. Chard evolved naturally in the Mediterranean region and Canary Islands, popular as long ago as 350 BCE. Current cultivars are extensive, bearing little resemblence to their forebears.

Plants: Plants are annual or biennial, and 1–1½′ (30–45 cm) high. Chard is grown for its edible leaves, not for its roots. Roots are white to purplish-violet.

Leaves: A basal rosette of erect leaves. Leaves are shiny, crinkly (like spinach), with pronounced red or green ribs and large petioles. Chard is more recently available with petioles and ribs in many colors (”rainbow chard”).

Flowers: In small clusters forming a long, loose spike. Each flower has five tubular, lobed sepals. There is a short style with 2-3 stigmas, and five stamens.

Fruits: The tube of sepals is attached to the ovary, which thickens and hardens to enclose the fruit. Seeds are lens-shaped.

Edibility: Steamed with a little rice vinegar, the leaves and stems are one of my favorite vegetables. Chard is a great source of vitamins (A, K, and C) and minerals (magnesium, manganese, iron, and potassium). Plants produce all summer long.

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Caryophyllidae	Cacti, many other succulents, carnivorous plants, and leadworts
Order	Caryophyllales	Includes cacti, carnations, amaranths, ice plants, and many carnivorous plants
Family	Amaranthaceae	Amaranth family
Genus	Beta	Perhaps from the Celtic bett, “red,” because of the red roots, in any case this was the ancient Latin name for the beet
Species	vulgaris	Common
ssp.	cicla	New Latin for ”beet“

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Range: Zones 4-8:

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