It has caught some people off-guard (Image: Getty)
While many consider it general knowledge, some people are only just learning how peanuts grow. The vast majority pick up their peanuts from stores, rarely wondering their origins. But one user has caused a stir online after sharing their growing cycle.
Normally, it takes a good four to five months for peanuts to mature for harvesting. After which, they go through sorting, packaging and are distributed to shops for consumption, be it a snack or part of our meals.
However, in a recent thread titled ‘What are obvious things you’ve just become aware of?’, a user confessed to only just uncovering the peanut’s life cycle.
They admitted: “I had no idea that peanuts grow underground until the other day when I saw a video on . I think I always assumed they grew on like, I don’t know, a peanut tree? Peanut bush? I was flabbergasted.”
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The peanut, in fact, is a unique plant as it flowers above but bears fruit beneath the surface. National Peanut Board elucidates: “Many people are surprised to learn that peanuts grow beneath the soil and do not grow on trees like pecans or walnuts.”
Peanuts are sown after the last frost from April to May, nestled two inches deep and spaced one to two inches apart in neat rows. The website adds: “Peanut seedlings rise out of the soil about 10 days after planting. They grow into a green, oval-leafed plant about 18 inches tall. Unlike most plants, the peanut plant flowers above the ground, but fruits below ground.”
Around 40 days post-planting, yellow blossoms appear at the base of the plant. After self-pollination, the petals drop as the peanut begins to form within what is known as a ‘peg’. This peg stretches downwards, embedding itself in the soil where the peanut embryo resides at the tip, eventually turning horizontal and maturing into the familiar legume.
As the plant thrives, it can yield over 40 pods. The entire journey from seed to harvest spans four to five months, varying with type and variety.
Social media users have been left astounded by these facts, with one commenting: “I could have lived my whole life thinking there were peanut trees…” while another chimed in with: “Cashew nuts grow even more ridiculously.”
A third user exclaimed: “Peanuts aren’t even nuts. They’re legumes, like peas or beans.” Another chimed in with a reference to popular culture: “I assumed they grew on a peanut bush because of that episode of SpongeBob…”
And a final user confessed their surprise: “Whoa. I’m 34-years-old and today I learnt this.”