VARIETIES OF BUCKWHEAT 4O3 



percentage of crude fiber. The chief difference in the fljui 

 of wheat and buckwheat is the much lower percentag'2 of 

 protein in the latter, there being only about two-thirds as much 

 protein in buckwheat flour as in wheat flour. Buckwheat straw 

 contains a somewhat higher percentage of protein and crude 

 fiber and a correspondingly low percentage of nitrogen-free 

 extract. Buckwheat middlings is distinguished for its high 

 percentage of protein and fat 



575. Species. — Three cultivated species of buckwheat have 

 been recognized, only the first two of which have with cer- 

 tainty been grown in this country: (i) common buckwheat 

 {Fagopyntm esculenttim Moench.), (2) Tartary buckwheat {F, 

 tartariciim Gaertn.), and (3) notch-seeded buckwheat {F. emargi' 

 natiim Meissn.). Tartary buckwheat grows more slender, its 

 leaves are arrow-shaped, with shorter petioles than common 

 buckwheat ; its flowers are greenish or yellowish in racemes.* 

 The hull of the grain is rough and its angles wa\y. The grains 

 are smaller than common buckwheat. It is cultivated in the 

 cooler and more mountainous parts of Asia because it is hardier 

 and will succeed where common buckwheat fails. It is culti- 

 vated in eastern Canada, Maine, and occasionally elsewhere. 

 The grains of notch-jeeded buckwheat differ from this and the 

 common buckwheat by having the angles or edges of the hull 

 extended into wide, rounded margins or wings, thus making 

 the total width of the grain greater, although the kernel is no 

 larger. The hull is not rough but smooth, as in the case of 

 common buckwheat, which it otherwise resembles very closely. 

 Since no wild species has been reported, it may be a cultivated 

 form of the latter. It is reported as cultivated in northeastern 

 India and China. 



576. Varieties. — There are three types or principal ^rarieties 

 of common buckwheat raised in America : Japanese, silver hull 



1 L. H. Bailey: Cyclopedia of Horticulture, p. 570. 



