Buckwheat is a plant grown for its small, triangular seeds that people grind into flour or cook whole, like rice. Despite its name, buckwheat isn't actually wheat at all: it's more closely related to rhubarb than to grains like wheat or oats. The “wheat” part comes from how people use it, not from what it really is.

Buckwheat has a distinctive, slightly nutty flavor that makes it popular in cooking around the world. In Japan, cooks make soba noodles from buckwheat flour. In France and America, people use it for buckwheat pancakes, which taste earthier and heartier than regular pancakes. In Eastern Europe, cooks prepare kasha, a traditional dish of toasted buckwheat groats (the whole seeds).

Because buckwheat isn't related to wheat, many people who can't eat wheat gluten can eat buckwheat instead, though some still need to be careful. The plant also grows quickly in poor soil where other crops struggle, making it valuable for farmers. Honeybees love buckwheat flowers, and beekeepers value the dark, rich honey the bees make from them.