Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Peanut - Arachis hypogaea   L.
Members of Fabaceae:
Only member of Arachis in NC.
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Section 6 » Order Fabales » Family Fabaceae
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AuthorL.
DistributionScattered in the eastern half of the state.

Native of South America; in N.A. cultivated in the southern states and locally escaped.
AbundanceRare. Quite heavily cultivated as a crop in the northern Coastal Plain in NC.
HabitatRoadsides, waste areas, fallow fields.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting July-October.
IdentificationThis is a very unusual plant in that the bright yellow flowers are produced above ground, but it fruits below ground. The stems grow about a foot tall, the leaves divided into 3 or 5 elliptical, blunt leaflets. After flowering, a branch with a flower droops to the ground, such that the legume -- with the familiar 2-3 locules -- develops underground.
Taxonomic Comments
Other Common Name(s)
State RankSE
Global RankGNR
State Status
US Status
USACE-agcp
USACE-emp
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