Common buckwheat: Fagopyrum esculentum More than just ``Poor man's food`` An important identifying characteristics of the common buckwheat that differentiats from the other buckwheat species is the red stem. Because gluten is absent, buckwheat can not be used alone for
The Tartary or India buckwheat can be used like the common buckwheat.
As long as they are very tender and have barely broke through the soil, the shoots can be prepared as bleached vegetables such as asparagus. Aboveground shoots can be eaten like rhubarb as long as they are not too woody.
The stems are hardly sweet and are therefore usually given sugar.