March 8th, 2008
Beetroot - Treatment For Fevers And Constipation
It is thought that the beetroot evolved from wild sea beet (Beta vulgaris sub species maritima). Wild sea beet grows all over the coastlines of Europe and Western Asia and has rather small unappetising roots. The plant was sometimes used as a food but this would have mainly been the leaves and stems rather than the root. However references in around 300 BC claim the Greek cultivation of the plant where varieties of beet plants with edible roots were grown. It is difficult to accurately date the beetroot as unlike seeds and grains, roots and leaves rot away leaving no trace for archaeologists to study.