The genus Spinacia was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum, 2, p. 1027. Type species is Spinacia oleracea. The genus name may derive from the Latin "spina" or from Persian "ispanakh" (=spine), referring to the spiny fruit. Spinacia is closely related to genus Blitum, both grouping in Tribus Anserineae (Syn. Spinacieae).
