IDENTIFICATION
Regional Noxious. Annual.
Tartary buckwheat has large, light-green, heart-shaped leaves and
small, greenish flowers clustered at stem tips and at the angle of leaf
and stem. Mature plants grow to 100 cm.
DAMAGE
A serious weed of cereal and oilseed crops, tartary buckwheat reduces
crop yields by as much as 70%. Seeds are difficult to remove from cereals
and these lower crop quality. Infestations can occur in pastures and pigs
and other livestock suffer severe skin inflammation after eating large
quantities and being exposed to sunlight.
HABITAT
Tartary buckwheat tolerates a wide range of soil conditions but
is most competitive on low fertility soils. In BC it grows in cereal and
oilseed crops, forage crops, roadsides, and disturbed areas. It is found
only in the Peace River area, where it is regarded as a major concern.
SPREAD
Some seeds are shed and scattered before harvest, but contaminated seed
is the main source of long-distance dispersal.
