PEANUT

Description

The peanut (Arachis hypogaea), also known as the groundnut,goober , goober pea, pindar or monkey nut , is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large commercial producers, both as grain
legume and as an oil crop. Atypically among legumes, peanut pods develop underground leading botanist Carl Linnaeus to name peanuts hypogaea, which means “under the earth”.

The peanut belongs to the botanical family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), commonly known as the legume, bean, or pea family. Like most other legumes, peanuts harbor symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria in root nodules, which improve soil fertility, making them valuable in crop rotations.