False Buckwheat
Polygonum scandens L.
Polygonaceae (Smartweed Family)
▲ young shoot from underground root
▲ ▼ climbing, twining vines
▲ ▼ close-up of leaves, vine stem
▲ ▼ flowers and fruit
▲ close-up of fruit
False buckwheat:
· very similar to wild buckwheat, but is a perennial vine in Missouri with angled stems, instead of rounded as in wild buckwheat
o can tell if it is false buckwheat if it emerges from perennial roots in spring, instead of germinating from seed
· grows larger (longer vines) than wild buckwheat—up to 15-20’ long
· fruit also more showy than wild buckwheat, since it has wings around edges of seed, rather than just angled fruit with the wild buckwheat