Firstly, welcome to the Nay Sayers. You know who you are.There's an interesting point to clarify from the following contested statement made on a recent camping trip (far far away from the google machine).
"...Buckwheat is related to Rhubard..."Sure it was said in a casual-like manner, though having a plastic bag with it written on it wasn't enough. So here we go:
Polygonaceae - the Buckwheat Family
A family of 43 genera and about 110 species of herbs (mostly) and some shrubs and (rarely) trees. The ethnoflora includes, rhubarb (Rheum rhaponicum), a plant grown for its petioles, buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum)
Rhubard and Buckwheat come from the same family, the Polygonaceae Family but have different genus (kind of like you have the same great grandpa, but you don't have the same parents - lets say cousins). Rheums for Rhubarb, Fagopyrums for Buckwheat. If I was a botanist I'd be able to tell you all sorts of things about family structure et all. However as my education comes from the pages of web I can only compare it to my family tree and fill you up on juicy factoids:
- Rhubard is commonly spoken by extras in crowd scenes as a way to get that festive chit chat feel, "...Rhubard rhubard rhubarb". Try it out at a party sometime
- The leaves and roots of rhubarb are considered toxic (the part you eat being the stem) with the roots being used, and I quote "... as an aggressive laxative for over 5,000 years."
- Buckwheat is a sensational option if you don't eat wheat - as noodles, grains, flour, and now beer!
- Kingwood,West Virginia has its own Buckwheat Festival
- Buckwheat retains heat so will appear in those microwave heat packs and fragrantly soothe your aches'n'pains
