Observations of fruit shape and other characters in the species of the section Patellares,genus Beta

Summary Doubt is cast on the classification of the species within the section. Although Beta patellaris is distinct, the complete interfertility and intergradation of morphological characters between B. webbiana and B. procumbens suggests them to be two extremes of a single ecospecies. This has significance in studies of hybridization between sugar beet (B. vulgaris) and the members of this section.