Buckwheat

A pseudocereal, Fagopyrum esculentum, not a true grass but a broadleaf plant related to sorrel and rhubarb, domesticated in the region of Yunnan in southern China, with cultivation dated to roughly six thousand BC. Buckwheat is grown for its triangular seeds, milled into flour or used whole, and its short growing season and tolerance of poor soils have made it a traditional crop in cool, marginal farmland across East Asia, Russia and parts of Europe. It is the basis of foods such as Japanese soba noodles, Russian kasha and French galettes, and Russia and China remain among its largest modern producers.