A skin disease caused by eating buckwheat, particularly in people with sensitivity to the plant's compounds when exposed to sunlight.
From Fagopyrum (buckwheat genus) + Greek -ismos (condition). Fagopyrum itself comes from Latin fagus (beech) + Greek pyrós (wheat), combining plant names. The condition was documented in medieval and early modern Europe among grain handlers and consumers.
This is a real phototoxic reaction where buckwheat eaters developed blistering skin in sunlight—medieval doctors had no idea it was the plant's furocoumarins, but they knew the pattern!
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