North America Non-native Plant

Beet

Botanical name: Beta adanensis

USDA symbol: BEAD

Native status: Not native but doesn't reproduce and persist in the wild

Beta adanensis: The Mysterious Beet That’s Hard to Pin Down If you’ve stumbled across the name Beta adanensis in your plant research, you might be scratching your head wondering exactly what you’ve found. Don’t worry – you’re not alone! This particular member of the beet family is something of an ...

Beta adanensis: The Mysterious Beet That’s Hard to Pin Down

If you’ve stumbled across the name Beta adanensis in your plant research, you might be scratching your head wondering exactly what you’ve found. Don’t worry – you’re not alone! This particular member of the beet family is something of an enigma in the gardening world.

What We Know (And What We Don’t)

Beta adanensis goes by the common name beet, placing it in the same family as the beetroots and Swiss chard you might already know and love. However, unlike its well-documented cousins, this particular species keeps its secrets close to the vest.

Here’s the thing about Beta adanensis – reliable, specific information about this plant is surprisingly scarce. While the Beta genus includes some fantastic garden performers like sugar beets, table beets, and leafy chard, the details about this particular species remain largely unknown to most gardening resources.

The Challenge with Unclear Plant Information

When a plant’s native status, growing requirements, and basic characteristics aren’t well-documented, it creates a real puzzle for gardeners. Without knowing where Beta adanensis naturally occurs, we can’t determine its geographical distribution or provide you with a helpful map of its range.

Similarly, without clear information about its growth habits, size, or environmental preferences, it’s tough to give you the practical growing advice you’d need to succeed with this plant.

What This Means for Your Garden

Given the uncertainty surrounding Beta adanensis, here’s our honest take: this might not be the best choice for your garden project. When you’re investing time, energy, and garden space in a new plant, you want to know what you’re getting into.

Instead, consider these well-documented alternatives from the Beta family:

  • Common beetroot (Beta vulgaris) – great for colorful roots and nutritious greens
  • Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla) – stunning foliage in multiple colors
  • Sugar beet varieties – if you’re interested in something different

The Bottom Line

While Beta adanensis might sound intriguing, the lack of reliable information about its characteristics, growing needs, and origin makes it a risky choice for most gardeners. Sometimes the most mysterious plants are mysterious for a reason – they might be poorly documented varieties, regional names for other species, or simply plants that haven’t made it into mainstream cultivation.

Your garden deserves plants you can count on, with clear growing instructions and predictable results. There are plenty of fantastic, well-documented beet relatives that can give you the satisfaction of growing something from the Beta family without the guesswork.

If you’re set on exploring unusual beet varieties, stick with named cultivars from reputable sources – your future gardening self will thank you!

Beet

Classification

Group

Dicot

Kingdom

Plantae - Plants

Subkingdom

Tracheobionta - Vascular plants

Superdivision

Spermatophyta - Seed plants

Division

Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants

Subdivision
Class

Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons

Subclass

Caryophyllidae

Order

Caryophyllales

Family

Chenopodiaceae Vent. - Goosefoot family

Genus

Beta L. - beet

Species

Beta adanensis A. Pamukc. ex Aellen - beet

Plant data source: USDA, NRCS 2025. The PLANTS Database. https://plants.usda.gov,. 2/25/2025. National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC USA