Peanut
Peanut: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
Peanut, Arachis hypogaea, is an annual plant in the pea and bean family, Fabaceae. It produces the seeds you know as peanuts or groundnuts. Although their kitchen uses resemble those of nuts, botanically they are legumes, like peas and beans. The plant originated in South America and has an unusual life cycle: its flowers appear above ground, while its fruits develop beneath the soil.The plant is herbaceous, branched and relatively low-growing. Depending on the type, it forms an upright bush or spreads more widely, without becoming a tree or a climber. Each leaf consists of four leaflets arranged in two pairs. This distinguishes it from the three-part leaves of many beans. Below ground, a main root and lateral roots may carry nodules associated with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, as happens in other legumes.The small yellow flowers have the characteristic shape of the pea family and arise in the leaf axils. They are…
