Table of Contents

·    Introduction

·   Let's Begin

·    Fabacea

·     Production 

 ·    Conclusion

Table of Contents

·    Introduction

·   Taxonomy and Physiology

·    History

·     Production 

 ·    Conclusion

Introduction  

The purpose of this book is to help answer the question "what is a peanut?" To answer this question, let’s explore a bit. There is a lot to know about a peanut. In fact, there is so much to know, that all the information cannot fit into just one book! This book will provide a basic overview about peanuts and what is known about them. 

What inspired you to ask about peanuts? There are many different reasons you may have asked this question. Peanuts play a big role in our lives. How many different things can you think of that have peanuts in them? Peanuts can be used in many different ways. We eat them salted, ground into peanut butter, and even boiled! Is that it? No! Peanuts can be processed and refined for use in all kinds of different products. For example, the oil in a peanut can be extracted and used to fry potatoes or added as an ingredient in cookies! 

- To help you learn, when you see a word printed in green, use a dictionary to learn what it means! -

Let’s begin!

Think about the last time you ate a salted peanut. Did you think about what you were eating?

You were eating a plant! More specifically, you were eating the seed of a peanut plant. Can you name another kind of food that is the seed of a plant?

Plants are amazing organisms that are very complicated. To help us understand them, we describe them based on their taxonomy and give them a special name called a Scientific name. Plants have Scientific names and common names. The full scientific name of the commonly known peanut is: Plantae Tracheobionta Spermatophyta Magnoliophyta Magnoliopsida Rosidae Fabales

Fabaceae Arachis hypogaea L. (1). That is quite a bit of information to take in all at once! To help simplify, we will only examine the last three terms of the Scientific name. Fabaceae describes the taxonomic family. Arachis is the genus name. Arachis together with hypogaea L. describe the species name. It is normal to feel confused trying to understand all of this. Even among the experts, there is always debate about how plants should be named.   

Fabaceae

  The Fabaceae family is commonly called the pea family, or legumes. Fabaceae is the third largest family among angiosperms. Legumes can be found all over the world. They grow mainly in tropical and temperate regions. Many of the crops that are grown for food around the world are legumes. To name only a few uses, legumes are also grown for oils, fiber, and fuel. Other legumes you may know are lentils, chickpeas, and soybeans.

  Just like you, a plant needs certain nutrients to grow. A very special characteristic of the legume family is the ability to “fix nitrogen.”  This is a complex process that involves a symbiotic relationship between soil bacteria and plant roots. When the soil bacteria called rhizobia joins with a legume root, it forms a small round structure called a nodule (3). Nodules provide nitrogen, an important nutrient, to the plant.  This is a very important property of legumes to remember when we explore how peanuts are grown, later in this book. 

Arachis

Arachis is a genus within the family of Fabaceae that contains over 70 different species of flowering plants! Both annuals and perennials can be found within this genus. Now the species name becomes important!

The peanut you eat is specifically categorized as the species: Arachis hypogaea L..   Is there more to know about the name? Keep reading to find out!

Cultivar

We have now defined what the species name is for a peanut. The species can be broken down into even more specific categories. These categories are called varieties. When a plant variety is grown or cultivated by humans, it is called a cultivated variety or cultivar. There are many different kinds of peanut cultivars. Each cultivar is grouped based on certain characteristics. All of the cultivars can be categorized as Valencia, Spanish, Virginia or runner peanuts. 

Why do we have cultivars? Cultivars make it possible to have many different kinds of peanuts! A honey roasted peanut looks quite different from a boiled peanut. The size, shape, and flavor of a peanut can vary quit a lot. That is because different cultivars produce a whole variety of peanuts.