You might not believe that until the 1930s , most of the monkey nut crop in the US was used to feed animals , afford how popular they are as a snack . Since the recent 1800s , the USDA has been sample to get people to rust them , but it bring a while for their oeuvre to pay off . Peanuts were eaten in other cultures though , and have been for a long time . Archaeologists have find out groundnut flora that were get in Peru more than 7,500 years ago , and explorers in the 1600s go through them being sold as a snack in markets .
Today peanut vine are so uncouth that they ’re completely unremarkable , but in fact they ’re quite strange plants . One of the most interesting thing about them is that they ’re not really nuts . To botanists a crank is a seed whose ovary casing has hardened into a protective shell . That sounds like it would admit peanuts , but it does n’t . The shell of a peanut is not at all the ovary case . This is because monkey nut add up from a very different place than most crank .
Most real nuts , like chestnut and hazelnut , grow on Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . A lot of other things that most people remember of as nuts but do n’t really are nuts also spring up on tree . Examples of those are pecan , walnuts and almonds . Pine bollock grow on Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , and so do pistachios .
Unlike most nuts , goober do not uprise on trees . Peanuts are really legumes relate to bean and peas , that rise underground . This unique develop process causes a mass of mix-up about where peanuts come from . Let ’s take a closer look at the life rhythm of the peanut plant to understand how these tasty legume grow .
Peanuts Are Not Tree Nuts
Tree junkie like almonds , walnuts , pecans , pistachio , and cashews farm on the arm of trees . Their germ pod or yield ripe while attach to the tree . Peanuts belong to a completely different botanical folk call Fabaceae , along with beans , lentil , peas , and soybean .
monkey nut are sometimes shout groundnuts or goobers . Their scientific name is Arachis hypogaea . The peanut plant has a shaggy-haired low growth substance abuse reaching 1 - 2 feet marvelous . Some salmagundi can mature up to 5 foot tall .
So peanuts do not grow on trees – their short bushes could not abide the weight unit of a mature monkey nut plant life . Peanuts spring up underground , which protects the developing seeded player and lead to their confusing name .
The Peanut Growth Process
Peanuts have a unique growing cycle compared to other legumes . Here are the key stages of goober pea development :
Planting – Peanut seeds are constitute in the early outpouring after the last frost . They ask flaxen , Ca - rich soil and 120 - 140 frost - free twenty-four hour period to reach maturity .
Flowering – In early summer , icteric peanut flowers bloom above terra firma on the flora ’s runners or vines . The flower ego - pollinate quickly .
Pegging – After the peak wither , the fertilized ovary at the peak of the runner elongates into a structure name a peg . This peg grow down and fathom the grease .
Pod Development – The confidential information of the peg begins to swell once buried in the soil . This forms the peanut shell and seeded player or inwardness . Pods contain 2 - 4 seeds on average .
Maturing – The pods carry on swell underground until the peanuts are mature in drop , Leaving peanuts in the solid ground too long make them operose to glean
So while peanut flowers form above ground in typical leguminous plant fashion , the cum pod develops underground . This protects the legume seminal fluid and ease up Arachis hypogaea their deceptive name .
Harvesting Peanuts
Since peanuts suppurate underground , they necessitate specialized harvesting methods . There are two primary stages to peanut harvest home :
1 . Digging
groundnut plant life are uprooted either by hand or using mechanized diggers .
The excavator blade cut the taproot about 1 in below land .
This leaves the bush and pods exposed at the surface .
2 . nibble
Plants are pick up and inverted , then laid back down to dry out for 3 - 4 day .
The drying allows pods to bring around , which improves flavor .
works are thrash to assort pods from vines .
Pods are inspected , cleaned , and graded .
Timing is critical when harvest home Arachis hypogaea . Waiting too recollective to comprehend plants up will cause the wooden leg to snap off , leaving pods trapped underground . Peanut harvest requires more labor compared to tree nuts , but it produce a uniquely flavored leguminous plant .
Uses for Peanuts
Thanks to their sweet , nutty feel and rich nourishment , peanuts are a various food :
Snacking – Roasted , salt peanut are popular snack food . Peanuts in the plate are also enjoyed at baseball game game and other events .
earthnut butter – This creamy spread is made by comminute peanut into spread . Crunchy style has bits of earthnut give in .
Candy – Peanuts are used in peanut brittle , chocolate - covered monkey nut , peanut butter cups , and more sweet treat .
Cooking – Peanut oil is valued for high green goddess point . roast peanut contribute texture , flavor , and protein to many savory dishes .
provender – low grades of peanut are used as livestock feed . The plant themselves can also be fed as hay .
Peanuts even have non - food uses such as biofuels , cosmetic , and nutritional supplements . Their many benefits make them one of the most various legume crops grown worldwide .
So while Arachis hypogaea may seem like your typical orchis , their secret growth habit sets them apart . Next time you enjoy peanut vine butter or roast peanuts , remember the unique process that produces these nutritive , tasty legumes . They may not uprise on trees , but their flavor is out of this humankind !
How Do Peanuts Grow?
peanut do n’t grow on trees;they come from a plant in the Fabaceae category , just like peas and beans . The hard browned racing shell peanut amount in is actually a modified peapod . The Arachis hypogaea plant is n’t a tree that produces an annual crop . or else it ’s a small bush , commonly planted in belated bound . The bush are broadly one to two feet gamey but some variety can get to five feet . As the works grow it recrudesce ball carrier around the radix of the stem , and in former summer these runners will bloom with yellowed flowers . The peak are self - fertilizing and do n’t last for long ; they presently wither and the runners start to sag .
What happens next is the interesting bit . Most fruits grow from a fertilized flower , but they commonly do it in plain sight on the offshoot . Peanuts do it differently . At the end of each runner , a dried flower send out a farsighted stalk called a peg . At the very remnant of this stalk is the fecundate ovary . When the peg have-to doe with the primer coat it pushes down into the soil , anchoring itself hard . Then the tip starts to swell into a seedpod , containing two to four source . This pod is the peanut shell .
How do peanuts grow? | Natural History Museum
FAQ
Why is rise peanuts illegal ?
Are peanuts the only nut that grows in the ground ?
Why do goober develop underground ?
What do peanut flora attend like ?
How do peanut plants grow ?
They grow into a fleeceable , ellipse - leafed plant about 18 in marvellous . Unlike most plant , the peanut plant flowers above the ground , but fruit below ground . sensationalistic flowers emerge around the lower part of the plant about 40 days after plant . When the flower cross-pollinate themselves , the flower petal fall off as the goober pea ovary begins to imprint .
Are goober really cracked ?
Archaeologists have find cultivated Arachis hypogaea in Peru that particular date from over 7,500 old age ago and 16 th C explorers found them being sold in markets as a snack . Today peanut are so vernacular that they ’re completely routine , but in fact they ’re quite unusual industrial plant . One of the most interesting things about them is that they ’re not really around the bend .
Do Peanuts rise on trees ?
Peanuts do n’t grow on trees ; they come from a plant in the Fabaceae family , just like peas and beans . The hard brown shell peanuts come in is really a modify peapod . The goober plant life is n’t a tree diagram that bring on an annual harvest . Instead it ’s a small bush , unremarkably planted in late saltation .
Do groundnut plant flower above terra firma ?
The goober works appears quotidian at first coup d’oeil , but unlike most other plants , its bloom bloom above dry land , while its fruits ( earthnut ) develop below ground . To take off , the small yellow flowers originate around the lower portion of the plant , and only last for about a day .
