Buckwheat

Buckwheat
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Polygonaceae
Genus:	Fagopyrum
Species:	F. esculentum
Binomial name
Fagopyrum esculentum Moench
Synonyms[1]
Polygonum fagopyrum L. 1753 Fagopyrum cereale Raf. Fagopyrum dryandrii Fenzl Fagopyrum emarginatum (Roth) Meisn. 1840 Fagopyrum emarginatum Moench 1802 Fagopyrum fagopyrum (L.) H.Karst., invalid tautonym Fagopyrum polygonum Macloskie Fagopyrum sagittatum Gilib. Fagopyrum sarracenicum Dumort. Fagopyrum vulgare Hill ex Druce 1913 Fagopyrum vulgare T.Nees 1853 Polygonum emarginatum Roth

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) or common buckwheat^[2][3] is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. Buckwheat originated around the 6th millennium BCE in the region of what is now Yunnan Province in southwestern China. The name "buckwheat" is used for several other species, such as Fagopyrum tataricum, a domesticated food plant raised in Asia.

Despite its name, buckwheat is not closely related to wheat. Buckwheat is not a cereal, nor is it a member of the grass family. It is related to sorrel, knotweed, and rhubarb. Buckwheat is considered a pseudocereal because the high starch content of the seeds enables buckwheat to be cooked and consumed like a cereal.