Name Variations[]
- Groundnut
- Earthnuts
- Goobers
- Goober peas
- Pindas
- Pinders
- Manila nuts
- Monkey nuts
About Peanut[]
The peanut or groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is a species in the pea family Fabaceae native to South America. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing to 30 to 50 cm (one to one and a half feet) tall.The leaves are alternate, pinnate with four leaflets (two opposite pairs; no terminal leaflet), each leaflet 1 to 7 cm (1/3 to 2.75 inches) long and 1 to 3 cm (1/3 to 1 inch) broad. The flowers are a typical peaflower in shape, 2 to 4 cm (3/4 to one and a half inches) across, yellow with reddish veining. After pollination, the fruit develops into a legume 3 to 7 cm (1 to 2 inches) long containing 2 to 3 (rarely 1 or 4) seeds, which forces its way underground to mature.
Although a nut in the culinary sense, in the botanical sense the fruit of the peanut is a woody, indehiscent legume or pod and not technically a nut.