Annuals Dictionary: Arachis
Bean family
Leguminosae
A’ra-kis. A genus of about a dozen species in South America, of which the peanut is of wide economic importance.
Description
Leaves alternate, compound; leaflets oblong, without marginal teeth. Flowers yellow.
How to Grow
Although Arachis rarely sets fruit in the North, its flowers are lovely. Sow seeds outdoors after danger of frost is past. It needs full sun and warm weather.
Arachis hypogaea
Peanut . 12-18 in. (30-45 cm) high. Flowers of 2 kinds: one showy, yellow, pealike, and sterile; the other, also yellow, but fertile and on recurved stalks that touch the ground and penetrate it, carrying the fertilized ovary beneath the surface, where it ripens as a peanut. Unlike other fruits of the pea family, this one does not split. Seeds oily and nutritious. Tender annual.