[AS.] A biennial vegetable plant which produces an edible root the first year and seed the second year. There are many varieties ; the red is used for the table, the mangel-wurzel for feeding stock, and the white in making sugar. Beet-root sugar is equal to that made from the cane, and is made in immense quantities in Europe, where more than 4,000,000 tons are produced annually. This industry has been introduced into the United States, but has as yet made no great progress.