ABSTRACT
The peanut plant belongs to the pea or Leguminosae family and is known as arachide in France, mani or cacahuete in Spain, pistacchio di terra in Italy, erdnuss in Germany, and amendoim in Portugal. The plant is a native of South America. Indians grew peanuts at least 1,000 years ago, although farmers in Africa and Asia now grow about 90% of the world total. The leading peanutgrowing countries are India, China, and the U.S. Georgia produces about half the annual U.S. peanut crop. Since the pods develop underground, peanuts are often called groundnuts, and are also called goobers. They are nutritious; peanuts and peanut butter contain more energy-providing calories than equal weights of beefsteak.
