Beta vulgaris L.
A hairless annual or perennial. Stems erect or spreading, branched, sometimes reddish, from 20 to 90 cm long. Leaves dark green, oval to lanceolate, sometimes with cordate base, entire, from 3 to 10 cm long, or more. Flowers 1.5 to 2 mm long, green, sometimes purplish, in leafy clusters of up to 5, forming long terminal and axillary spikes. Perianth hardens in fruit and enlarges to between 2.5 and 4 mm in diameter.
Local: Common around the natural coastline of the Rock, especially southern areas such as Windmill Hill and Europa Flats, and along the East Side, and also at North Front.
Global: Found throughout the Mediterranean region, south-western Europe, south-western Asia and the Canary Islands.
Flowers between April, May and June (July).
Grows in coastal regions; also on waste ground and as a weed in cultivated fields.