The peanut, or groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), is a species in the legume family (Fabaceae) native to South America, Mexico and Central America. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing 30 to 50 cm (1 to 1.5 ft) tall. The leaves are opposite, pinnate with four leaflets (two opposite pairs; no terminal leaflet), each leaflet 1 to 7 cm (⅜ to 2¾ in) long and 1 to 3 cm (⅜ to 1 inch) broad. The flowers are a typical peaflower in shape, 2 to 4 cm (¾ to 1...
more
The peanut, or groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), is a species in the legume family (Fabaceae) native to South America, Mexico and Central America. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing 30 to 50 cm (1 to 1.5 ft) tall. The leaves are opposite, pinnate with four leaflets (two opposite pairs; no terminal leaflet), each leaflet 1 to 7 cm (⅜ to 2¾ in) long and 1 to 3 cm (⅜ to 1 inch) broad. The flowers are a typical peaflower in shape, 2 to 4 cm (¾ to 1½ in) across, yellow with reddish veining. After pollination, the fruit develops into a legume 3 to 7 cm (1 to 2 in) long, containing 1 to 4 seeds, which forces its way underground to mature.
Peanuts are known by many local names, including earthnuts, ground nuts, goober peas and monkey nuts; the last of these is often used to mean the entire pod.
The domesticated peanut is an amphidiploid or allotetraploid, meaning that it has two sets of chromosomes from two different species. The wild ancestors of the peanut were thought to be A. duranensis...
less
