Arachis hypogaea
earthroot, peanut
spreading, erect, or prostrate, sometimes rooting at nodes, to 13 dm, glabrous or villous.
stipules lanceolate to subfalcate, 20–30(–50) mm;
leaflet blade elliptic to ovate or obovate, 18–60 × 15–30 mm, apex often obtuse to subacute, sometimes emarginate, surfaces glabrous, or puberulent abaxially, margins villous, sometimes bristly.
hypanthium elongated, (1–)2–4 cm;
calyx 10–12 mm, glabrous;
corolla bright yellow to orange, often with reddish lines toward base of banner, 10–20 mm.
oblong;
testa reddish brown.
oblong, 20–60 × 10–20 mm, sometimes constricted between seeds;
pericarp reticulate.
= 40.
Arachis hypogaea
Arachis hypogaea is a major cultivated crop in tropical to warm-temperate areas worldwide (R. Prescott-Allen and C. Prescott-Allen 1990); the seeds are used most notably as food or for edible oil (J. A. Duke 1981). Archaeological evidence indicates that peanuts were in cultivation by at least 1200–1500 BCE and spread as far north as Mexico prior to European contact (R. O. Hammons 1973). Peanuts occur sporadically outside of cultivation, probably spread by birds and squirrels; they are rarely self-perpetuating. The infraspecific variation of A. hypogaea in its native range is extensive; it has been divided into two subspecies and six varieties (A. Krapovickas and W. C. Gregory 2007). The variation in its native range may be useful in improving the cultivated strains (J. Smartt 1990).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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