''Fagopyrum tataricum'', also known as Tartary buckwheat, green buckwheat, ku qiao, Tatar buckwheat, or bitter buckwheat, is a

domesticated Domestication is a multi-generational mutualistic relationship in which an animal species, such as humans or leafcutter ants, takes over control and care of another species, such as sheep or fungi, to obtain from them a steady supply of reso ...

food plant in the genus ''

Fagopyrum The genus ''Fagopyrum'' is in the flowering plant family Polygonaceae. It includes some important food plants, such as '' F. esculentum'' (buckwheat) and '' F. tataricum'' (Tartary buckwheat). The genus is native to the Indian subcontin ...

'' in the family

Polygonaceae The Polygonaceae are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants known Common name, informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The Botanical name, name is Basionym, based on the genus ''Polygonum'', ...

. With another species in the same genus, common buckwheat, it is often counted as a

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

, but the buckwheats are not closely related to true cereals. Tartary buckwheat is more bitter and contains more

rutin Rutin (rutoside, quercetin-3-O-rutinoside or sophorin) is the glycoside combining the flavonol quercetin and the disaccharide rutinose (α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranose). It is a flavonoid glycoside found in a wide variety of pla ...

than common buckwheat. It also contains other bioactive components such as flavonoids, phenolic acids, 2-hydroxybenzylamine and

quercitrin Quercitrin is a glycoside formed from the flavonoid quercetin and the deoxy sugar rhamnose. Austrian chemist Heinrich Hlasiwetz (1825-1875) is remembered for his chemical analysis of quercitrin. It has also been investigated as a potential d ...

Uses

Known in Chinese as "bitter buckwheat" ( zh, s=苦荞麦, p=kǔqiáomài) and in Japan as , the plant was domesticated as a crop in

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

and is also being cultivated in Europe and North America. While it is an unfamiliar food in the West, it is common in the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...

n region today, as well as other regions in

Southwest China Southwestern China () is a region in the People's Republic of China. It consists of five provincial administrative regions, namely Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Xizang. Geography Southwestern China is a rugged and mountainous region, ...

such as

Sichuan province Sichuan is a Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capita ...

. Tartary buckwheat is commonly roasted to make buckwheat tea, and it can also be distilled to make alcohol. While not traditionally eaten in Japan, due to its high

content it was briefly popular as a health fad in Japan in the late 1990s. The plant has been cultivated in many parts of the world; however, when found among other crops it is considered a weed. Less bitter varieties are now commercially available.

Chemistry

''Fagopyrum tataricum'' contains aromatic substances. The most important difference when compared to the aroma of ''

Fagopyrum esculentum Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum'') or common buckwheat 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 the absence of

salicylaldehyde Salicylic aldehyde (2-hydroxybenzaldehyde) is an organic compound with the formula . Along with 3-hydroxybenzaldehyde and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, it is one of the three isomers of hydroxybenzaldehyde. This colorless oily liquid has a bitter almo ...

and presence of

naphthalene Naphthalene is an organic compound with formula . It is the simplest polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and is a white Crystal, crystalline solid with a characteristic odor that is detectable at concentrations as low as 0.08 Parts-per notation ...

Gallery

File:Fagopyrum tataricum.jpg, ''Fagopyrum tataricum'' seeds from Mustang, Nepal File:Grains de fagopyrum tataricum.jpg, A bowl of ''Fagopyrum tataricum'' seeds

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q12358 tataricum Cereals Crops originating from Asia Flora of Asia Pseudocereals