Interesting facts

The scientific name Polygonum is derived from the Greek polygonos = many-angled, and describes the shape of the fruits. The epithet fagoyrum is composed of the Latin words fagus = beech and pyros = wheat, and therefore corresponds to the common name. In Germany, the earliest record of the name is found in documents from Lüneburg dating from 1385. The name was given because buckwheat fruits are used like wheat and are similar in appearance to the fruits of the beech tree, the beech nuts.
The oldest buckwheat finds to date were made in the steppes to the north of the Black Sea, in what today is the Ukraine. Buckwheat fruits were found there in Scythian settlements from the Ice Age (7/6th and 5/4th centuries BC). Trade and later the crusaders spread buckwheat as far as the Netherlands. The main regions of cultivation in Germany used to be areas with poor sandy or peaty soil, on which buckwheat thrives. Examples of such areas are the Lüneburg Heath and Mecklenburg. Dutch settlers took the plant to North America. In the course of the 18th century, with the spread of intensive farming and the use of fertilisers, buckwheat began to lose its importance. Today it has found new popularity among those looking for a gluten-free alternative to cereals, and forged a niche for itself in agriculture. On a global scale this food source is not very significant: the largest areas of cultivation are found in China, Russia and the Ukraine.
The nutty-tasting buckwheat fruits can be used as an alternative to cereals and are rich in vitamins and minerals, especially calcium and vitamins of the B-complex, as well as valuable vegetable protein. A buckwheat porridge known as Grechnevaya Kasha is very popular in Poland and Russia, and most of us have heard of bliny, which originally came from Russia. Europe has also produced numerous buckwheat recipes. The Italians, for example, use buckwheat flour for a pasta called pizzocheri; the French make pancakes from buckwheat flour, which they know as blé noir, or black wheat. Groats were popular with seafarers in the 17th and 18th centuries because they were nutritious and long-lasting.
The sweet-scented and nectar-rich buckwheat flowers are highly valued as bee forage. Hens are given buckwheat as feed concentrate; pigs eat buckwheat bran.
The medical significance of buckwheat was discovered only recently, however. Research revealed it to be one of the plants richest in flavonoids, and in 1999 it was voted medicinal plant of the year.