Spinacia

Abstract

The wild-relative species of spinach comprise Spinacia turkestanica iljin and S. tetrandra Stev ., with closely related genera Beta and Chenopodium . The wild species of Spinacia have not been collected for conservation in gene banks to a large extent, but they do not seem to be threatened seriously in their growing areas of Western Asia. They may be an important source of genes for disease resistance for cultivated spinach in the future, and they have contributed to the elucidation of the development of the heteromorphic sex expression in the genera. In situ collection of the two wild Spinacia species should be encouraged to generate good sources of disease-resistance genes for future breeding of vegetable spinach.