Common Buckwheat
Common Buckwheat
Fagopyrum esculentum
Plantae
UNCOMMON

Stats

Lifespan
Annual
Size
Medium
Diet
Photosynthetic
Biome
Temperate grassland
Range
Central Asia
Movement
Sessile
Breeding
Seeds
Defense
Toxins
Status
Uncommon

About

Common buckwheat is a fast-growing annual whose clusters of tiny white or pink flowers make it a favourite cover crop for pollinators; despite its name it is not a grass but a broadleaf flowering plant, and its triangular seeds have been ground into flour for over 8,000 years.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    seed
    A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
  2. 2.
    sprout
    A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
  3. 3.
    sapling
    A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
  4. 4.
    mature
    Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Order
Caryophyllales
Family
Polygonaceae
Genus
Fagopyrum
Species
Fagopyrum esculentum