buckwheat

/ˌbʌkˈwit/

/ˌbʌkˈhwit/

/ˈbʌkwit/

Other forms: buckwheats

Buckwheat is a plant whose triangular seeds are harvested and milled into flour. Some people prefer hearty buckwheat pancakes to the lighter and fluffier white flour version.

Despite the similar names, buckwheat isn't related to wheat — its closer cousins are rhubarb and sorrel. It grows triangular-shaped seeds that can be cooked and eaten whole or ground into flour for use in foods like Japanese soba noodles. The word comes from the Middle Dutch boecweite, "beech wheat," based on buckwheat's resemblance to the seeds of the beech tree.

Definitions of buckwheat

1. noun

   a member of the genus Fagopyrum; annual Asian plant with clusters of small pinkish white flowers and small edible triangular seeds which are used whole or ground into flour
   synonyms: Fagopyrum esculentum, Polygonum fagopyrum

   type of:

   herb, herbaceous plant

   a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests
2. noun

   a triangular seed used as grain or ground into flour
   type of:

   cereal, food grain, grain

   foodstuff prepared from the starchy grains of cereal grasses
3. adjective

   made from the seeds or the flour of ground buckwheat