<P> Chard or Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris subsp . vulgaris, Cicla - Group and Flavescens - Group) (/ tʃ ɑːr d /) is a green leafy vegetable . In the cultivars of the Flavescens - Group, the leaf stalks are large and often prepared separately from the leaf blade . The leaf blade can be green or reddish in color; the leaf stalks are usually white, yellow, or red . </P> <P> Chard, like other green leafy vegetables, has highly nutritious leaves, making it a popular component of healthy diets . Chard has been used in cooking for centuries, but because of its similarity to beets and vegetables like cardoon, the common names that cooks and cultures have used for chard may be confusing . </P> <P> Chard was first described in 1753 by Carl von Linné as Beta vulgaris var . cicla . Its taxonomic rank has changed many times, so it was treated as a subspecies, convariety or variety of Beta vulgaris . (Some of the numerous synonyms are Beta vulgaris subsp . cicla (L .) W.D.J. Koch (Cicla Group), B. vulgaris subsp . cicla (L .) W.D.J. Koch var . cicla L., B. vulgaris var . cycla (L .) Ulrich, B. vulgaris subsp . vulgaris (Leaf Beet Group), B. vulgaris subsp . vulgaris (Spinach Beet Group), B. vulgaris subsp . cicla (L .) W.D.J. Koch (Flavescens Group), B. vulgaris subsp . cicla (L .) W.D.J. Koch var . flavescens (Lam .) DC., B. vulgaris L. subsp . vulgaris (Leaf Beet Group), B. vulgaris subsp . vulgaris (Swiss Chard Group)). The accepted name for all beet cultivars, like chard, sugar beet and beetroot, is Beta vulgaris subsp . vulgaris . They are cultivated descendants of the sea beet, Beta vulgaris subsp . maritima . Chard belongs to the chenopods, which are now mostly included in the family Amaranthaceae (sensu lato). </P> <P> There are two rankless cultivar groups for chard: the Cicla - Group for the leafy spinach beet, and the Flavescens - Group for the stalky Swiss chard . </P>

Is swiss chard part of the beet family