The genus Fagopyrum is in the flowering plant family Polygonaceae.

The genus is native to the Indian subcontinent, much of Indochina, and central and southeastern China.

Species have been widely introduced elsewhere, throughout the Holarctic and parts of Africa and South America.

The two have similar uses, and are classed as pseudocereals, because they are used in the same way as cereals but do not belong to the grass family Poaceae.

[7] As of March 2019[update], Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:[2]