Fagopyrum Esculentum Known as Buckwheat That Flower from July to September
BUCKWHEAT
Although buckwheat has much to offer, it is used very little. The plants from the moderate regions of Asia grow about 20 in tall, with a fairly loose type of growth. Clusters of delightfully fragrant, white to pale pink flowers appear from July onwards, and attract many bees. Buckwheat honey is very popular. The flowers are followed in September to October by small triangular fruits, which provide buckwheat flour and are also used as a medicine. Even the husks of the seeds are used, either for stuffing cushions or for those suffering from insomnia. If you don’t want to harvest the seed yourself, you will be able to watch the birds enjoying them in the autumn. It is therefore an ideal plant for flower-filled fields and natural gardens. Wait until May, after the last frost, before sowing the seed in broken-up soil in a sunny, or partially shaded position. There is nothing else you need do apart from enjoying the generous gifts of buckwheat.
Buckwheat refers to plants in two genera of the dicot family Polygonaceae: the Eurasian genus Fagopyrum, and the North American genus Eriogonum. The crop plant, common buckwheat, is Fagopyrum esculentum. Tartary buckwheat (F. tataricum Gaertn.) or “bitter buckwheat” is also used as a crop, but it is much less common. Despite the common name and the grain-like use of the crop, buckwheats are not grasses (and are therefore considered pseudocereals) and are not related to wheat nor other monocots.
This flower plant has also medicinal uses. Buckwheat is a bitter but pleasant tasting herb that is frequently used medicinally because the leaves are a good source of rutin. Rutin is useful in the treatment of a wide range of circulatory problems, it dilates the blood vessels, reduces capillary permeability and lowers blood pressure.
