Buckwheat can be grown on poor and wet ground, and is often used as a first crop on newly cleared land and is planted to be ploughed under in order to improve the soil. Russia, the USA and Canada are the biggest producers.

Tartarian Buckwheat or Indian wheat, Fagopyrum Tataricum is the only other species common in cultivation. It is a native of Siberia and is distinguished by the toothed edges of the seeds. Buckwheat is used mostly in the diet of the parrot family. European aviculturists feed as high as 10% in the ration.

Buckwheat can be offered in the form of grain, sprouted or as a green.

Buckwheat is a member of the genus Fagopyrum. Any plant of the genus Fagopyrum of the Buckwheat family is not related to wheat or to other grains which belong to the grass family. Buckwheat is an olicot in the small family Polygonales. 

Cultivated Buckwheat, Fagopyrum Esculentum is a native of Asia and it was introduced into Western Europe about the 16th century. Buckwheat is a green leafy plant and grows to about 90cm high and has heart shaped leaves with small white flowers.