Beet is the common name of the plant species "Beta vulgaris". The type specimen is "Beta vulgaris" L. Many beet products are made from other "Beta vulgaris" varieties, particularly sugar beet. The wild ancestor of the cultivated beets is the sea beet ("Beta vulgaris" subsp. Forms of "Beta vulgaris" include fodder beet ("Mangelwurzel") and sugar beet. Downy mildew is a moderately important disease of sugar beet ("Beta vulgaris"). "Beta vulgaris" belongs to the subfamily Betoideae in family Amaranthaceae ("s.l", including the Chenopodiaceae).