Peanuts Grow Underground Like Root Vegetables

The peanut plant is one of the few species that practices geocarpy, a botanical term for above-ground flowers that develop fruits underground. About 40 days after planting, delicate yellow blossoms appear around the lower third of the plant. After a few days, these self-pollinating blooms crumple and die, revealing budding ovaries known as pegs. As their petals shrivel, the pegs' stems curve downward, plunging the pegs into the soil. Underground, they slowly develop into pods, each containing a pair of seeds, or peanuts. This unusual growing method is why peanuts are often called ground nuts. The plant is also unique among legumes for its ability to fix nitrogen in the soil through symbiotic bacteria in its root nodules, making it valuable for crop rotation. The whole process, from planting to harvest, takes about five months.