Arachis

(ar´a-kis), a genus of leguminous plants much cultivated in warm climates, and esteemed a valuable article of food. The most remarkable feature of the genus is that when the flower falls the stalk supporting the small undeveloped fruit lengthens, and bending towards the ground pushes the fruit into the ground, when it begins to enlarge and ripen. The pod of A. hypogœa (popularly called ground, earth, or pea nut) is of a pale-yellow colour, and contains two seeds the size of a hazel-nut, in flavour sweet as almonds, and yielding when pre ed an excellent oil.