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Sea Beet

The sea beet is a plant growing on many parts of our coasts. It belongs to the same natural family as the spinach, and is probably the original form of the cultivated beet and man-gold-wurzel. The leaves are large, and when boiled resemble spinach in flavour. The plant grows naturally on chalk, but is much improved by being sown in garden-ground. If planted in rich soil the leaves are finer, and the flavour is scarcely distinguishable from that of spinach. A regular supply can also be obtained until late in the season by gathering the leaves in succession as they grow. In many parts of Ireland they are collected by the poor, and eaten as food.