SimplePlant

Polygonaceae

Buckwheat

Fagopyrum esculentum Moench

Family
Polygonaceae
Genus
Fagopyrum

Pets and kids

  • CatsNot sure
  • DogsNot sure
  • KidsMildly toxic
Why

Cats: Not sure

We found no reliable source on this plant for cats, so we don't call it safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked with your vet.

Dogs: Not sure

We found no reliable source on this plant for dogs, so we don't call it safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked with your vet.

Kids: Mildly toxic

Mildly toxic to young children. Toxic principle: Fagopyrin.

Signs: Skin rash, Contact dermatitis, Photosensitivity.

Buckwheat: Fagopyrum esculentum , flowers; Manie van der Schijff Botanical Garden, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Photo: SAplants, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Is Buckwheat safe for cats, dogs and kids?

Is Buckwheat safe for cats?

We found no reliable source on this plant for cats, so we don't call it safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked with your vet.

Is Buckwheat safe for dogs?

We found no reliable source on this plant for dogs, so we don't call it safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked with your vet.

Is Buckwheat safe for kids?

No. Our sources call Buckwheat mildly toxic to young children. Toxic principle: Fagopyrin. Signs: Skin rash, Contact dermatitis, Photosensitivity.

Ate some? Call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 (a fee may apply). For a child, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US). If they are struggling to breathe or collapse, call 911. Don't give anything by mouth unless a vet or poison expert tells you to.

See all cat-safe plants, dog-safe plants and child-safe plants.

Common names

By language (93)
Afrikaans
Bokwiet
Arabic
نضم معروف, الحنطة السوداء
Armenian
Հնդկացորեն ցանովի
arz
حنطه سوداء
Asturian
Alforxón
azb
اکین قاراباشاغی
Azerbaijani
Əkin qarabaşağı
ba
Ҡарабойҙай
Bangla
ঢেমশি, ফ্যাগোপাইরাম এস্কুলেন্টাম
Basque
Artobeltz
Belarusian
Грэчка, Грэчка пасяўная, Грэча, Грячыха
bo
བྲ་བོ།, བྲ་བོ་
Breton
Gwinizh-du
Bulgarian
Обикновена елда
Cantonese
蕎麥, Buckwheat, 荍麥
Catalan
Fajol, Blat negre, Blé Noir, Sarrasin
Chinese
荞麦, 蕎麥, 甜荞, 荞麦叶, 荞麦秸
Croatian
Heljda
csb
Bùkwita
cv
Хура тулă
Czech
Pohanka obecná
Danish
Almindelig Boghvede, Boghvede
dsb
Hejduša, Pšusnica
dty
फापर
Dutch
Boekweit
English
Buckwheat, Common buckwheat, Buckwheat plant
Esperanto
Fagopiro
Estonian
Harilik tatar
Filipino
Hayang trigo, Buck wheat, Buck-wheat, Buckwheat, Common buckwheat, F esculentum, F. esculentum, Karaniwang hayang trigo
Finnish
Tattari, Viljatatar, Viljatattari
French
Blé de Barbarie, Blé Noir, Bucail, Sarrasin, Bled noir, Bled sarrasin, Carabin, Froment noir
frr
Echt Bokwiaten
Galician
Trigo mouro
German
Echter Buchweizen, Schwarzes Welschkorn, Türkischer Weizen, Blenden, Brein, Gemeiner Buchweizen, Heidenkorn, Heidensterz
Greek
Φαγόπυρον το εδώδιμον
Hebrew
כוסמת, פגופירון
Hindi
कूटू, कुट्टू
hsb
Hejduška
Hungarian
Hajdina, Pohánka, Tatárka
Icelandic
Bókhveiti
Indonesian
Buckwheat
io
Saraceno
Italian
Grano Saraceno
Japanese
ソバ, 蕎麦
Kannada
ಬಕ್ಹ್ವೀಟ್
Kazakh
Егістік қарақұмық
Korean
메밀, 메밀가루, 모밀
kw
Ys du
Kyrgyz
Кара күрүч
Latvian
Griķi
Lithuanian
Sėjamasis grikis, Blé Noir, Sarrasin
Luxembourgish
Gewéinlech Wëllkar, Wëllkar
Macedonian
Хелда, Елда, Хељда
Malay
Gandum kuda
mnc
ᠮᡝᡵᡝ
Mongolian
Гурвалжин будаа
mrj
Шимшӓдӓнгӹ
myv
Ликша
nan
Kiô-be̍h
nds
Boeked, Bookweten, Boeket, Boekweite, Bookweaite, Bookweit
Nepali
फापर
Norwegian Bokmål
Bokhvete, Buhvete
Norwegian Nynorsk
Bokkveite, Bokhvete
Occitan
Blat negre
os
Сауфагæ
pcd
Bucalhe, Blèi brouzèi, Bouqhéte, Brucalh
Persian
گندم سیاه, راش گندم, گندم گاوی
Polish
Gryka zwyczajna
Portuguese
Trigo sarraceno
Romanian
Hrișcă, Hrişcă, Tătarcă
rsk
Гречка
Russian
Гречиха посевная, Греча, Гречиха культурная, Гречиха обыкновенная, Гречиха съедобная, Греша
sah
Гречиха
Serbian
Хељда, Heljda
Serbian (Latin)
Heljda
sgs
Grėks
Slovak
Pohánka jedlá, Pohánka, Pohánka streliciová
Slovenian
Navadna ajda, Ajda, Ajdina, Jeda
Spanish
Alforfón, Trigo Sarraceno
Swedish
Bovete, Blé Noir, Bokvete, Sarrasin
Tamil
நெளிகோதுமை
Tatar
Кара бодай
Thai
บักวีต
Turkish
Karabuğday, Bak bitkisi, Kara buğday
tyv
Мыйырак
Ukrainian
Гречка
Urdu
گندم سیاه
Uzbek
Marjumak
Vietnamese
Kiều mạch
Walloon
Boûkete
Welsh
Gwenith yr hydd
Western Frisian
Boekweet, Boekweit, Boekwyt, Bokweet, Bokweit, Bokwyt, Perfyt
wuu
荞麦

Synonyms

  • Fagopyrum cereale Raf.
  • Fagopyrum dryandrii Fenzl
  • Fagopyrum emarginatum Moench
  • Fagopyrum emarginatum (Roth) Meisn.
  • Fagopyrum emarginatum var. kunawarense Meisn.
  • Fagopyrum esculentum subsp. ancestralis Ohnishi
  • Fagopyrum fagopyrum H.Karst.
  • Fagopyrum polygonum Macloskie
  • Fagopyrum sagittatum Gilib.
  • Fagopyrum sarracenicum Dumort.
  • Fagopyrum vulgare T.Nees
  • Fagopyrum vulgare Hill
  • Helxine fagopyrum Kuntze
  • Polygonum emarginatum Roth
  • Polygonum fagopyrum L.

Flowers

Flower colour
white (USDA PLANTS Database)

Characteristics

Growth habit
Forb/herb
Lifespan
Annual
In the US and Canada
Alaska: introduced, Canada: introduced, Lower 48 states: introduced

Toxicity: Severe, as listed by the USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29). USDA rates how toxic a plant is to people or livestock; it is not a pet-safety rating, so ask a vet or poison line if a pet or child ate it.

Photos

More in Fagopyrum

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.