Beet greens are the leafy tops of the ordinary table beet (Beta vulgaris) — the same plant grown for beetroot, but the part that grows above ground. They are broad, glossy, deep-green blades, often bronze-tinged, carried on slender stalks and midribs that run vivid red, crimson or pink from the same betalain pigments that colour the root below. Cooked like Swiss chard the world over, they taste earthy and mildly bitter, sweeter and softer than chard, with a clear beet-like note.