Peanut
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For other uses, see Peanut (disambiguation).
Peanut Classification
Peanut (Arachis hypogea)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Tribe: Aeschynomeneae
Genus: Arachis
Species: A. hypogaea
Binomial name
Arachis hypogaea
L.
The peanut, or groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is a species in the legume family Fabaceae native to South America. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing to 30 to 50 cm (1 to 1½ feet) 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 3 (rarely 4) seeds, which forces its way underground to mature.