Despite their name, peanuts aren’t true nuts. They are actually legumes, which are plants that produce their seeds in pods, similar to beans, lentils, and peas. Peanuts grow underground, whereas true nuts like acorns and chestnuts grow on trees. The confusion comes from the fact that peanuts share similar characteristics with nuts, such as being high in protein and fat. However, botanically speaking, they belong to the Fabaceae family, not the nut family, which includes trees like oak and hazelnut.

Why Peanuts Are Classified as Legumes

Peanuts are classified as legumes because of the way they grow. Unlike tree nuts, which develop from the ovary of a single flower, legumes grow from the roots of plants and develop inside a pod that splits open when the seeds are mature. This is the same way peas, beans, and lentils grow. Peanuts are part of the genus Arachis, which is a leguminous plant, and their growing process is more similar to that of beans than to tree nuts. This distinction helps scientists better categorize plants and understand their properties and nutritional values. Shutdown123