Peanuts belong to the legume group.

Legumes refer to all legumes that produce pods, and the flesh of peanuts grows in the pods, which are swollen and thick, so peanuts belong to the legume category.

The peanut, formerly known as the groundnut, is a nut that is abundantly produced and widely consumed in China, also known as the everlasting fruit, mud beans, etc. It is a plant under the order Rosaceae, the family of legumes, the genus of groundnut, and is also an annual herbaceous plant.

Its roots are rich in rhizomes, branches and stems are ribbed, leaves are papery opposite, petiole base clasping the stem, peanut's stem is erect or creeping, 30~80 centimeters long, the corolla is yellow or golden yellow, the flag wings are spreading, the wing petals and keel petals are separated, it's oblong or obliquely ovate; the pods are 2~5 centimeters long, 1~1.3 centimeters wide, swollen, the pods are thick, and the flowering and fruiting period is in June~August.

Distribution of peanuts

Peanuts are widely distributed in China, and are cultivated everywhere. The main producing areas are Shandong, eastern Liaoning, Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong, the Huanghuai River area, and the seaside hills and sandy soil areas along the southeastern coast. Among them to the north of Hebei, Henan, Suzhou, Anhui provinces in the north and other areas more, Shandong Peninsula, Luzhongnan hills, Jidong Luan River downstream, Yuandong yellow floodplain, as well as Suzhou and Anhui provinces in the northern part of the Huabei area is the focus of China's northern peanut production areas.

World production of peanuts in more than 100 countries, Asia is the most common, followed by Africa. But for commercial production of only more than 10 countries, the main producers in India and China cultivated area and production of the largest, the former about 7.2 million hectares, 5.6 million tons, the latter for 3.553 million hectares, 6.757 million tons (1985). Other countries are Senegal, Nigeria and the United States.