544 LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 



low ; pods four inches long, tapering slightly at the ends, 

 greenish-yellow, thick and fleshy, containing six or seven 

 peas, widely separated. The ripe seeds are oblong, rather 

 regular in form, and of a creamy-white color. 



It is one of the earliest of the Eatable-podded sorts, 

 coming to the table, if planted May 1, about the middle 

 of July. It is of good quality, but not hardy or produc- 

 tive ; and seems to have little to recommend it, aside from 

 the singular color of its pods. 



PEA-NUT. 



Ground Bean. Earth Nut. Vil. Pindar Nut. Ground Nut. 

 Arachys hypogea. 



A native of Africa, and also of Central and Tropical 

 America. It is an annual plant ; and the stem, when full 

 grown, is about fifteen inches in height. The leaves are 

 pinnate, with four leaflets, and a leafy, ernarginate appendage 

 at the base of the petioles ; the flowers are yellow, and are 

 produced singly, in the axils of the leaves ; the fruit, or pod, 

 is of an oblong form, from an inch to an inch and a half in 

 length, rather more than three eighths of an inch in diam- 

 eter, often contracted at the middle, but sometimes bottle- 

 formed, reticulated, and of a yellowish color ; the kernels, 

 of which the pods contain from one to three, are oblong, 

 quite white, and enclosed in a thin, brown skin, or 

 pellicle. 



A remarkable peculiarity of this plant is, that the lower 

 blossoms (which alone produce fruit), after the decay of 

 the petals, insinuate their ovaries into the earth ; beneath 

 which, at the depth of several inches, the fruit is afterwards 

 perfected. 



The seed, or kernel, retains its germinative property but a 





