DWI LISTIYANI (17304241032)

PENDIDIKAN BIOLOGI A 2017

Peanut (Arachis hypogea)

Peanut, (Arachis
hypogaea), also called
groundnut, earthnut, or goober,
legume of the pea family
(Fabaceae), grown for its edible
seeds. Peanut plants consist of
many organs. Three main organs
of peanut plants are root, stem,
and leaf. Meanwhile, the other
organs, like flowers, fruit, and
seed are reproductive organs of
peanut plants. The peanut is an
annual and can either be an erect
shrubby plant, 45–60 cm high
with short branches, or have a
spreading form, 30–45 cm high
with long branches that lie close
to the soil.

Peanut is a herbaceous annual with a fairly developed root system and a taproot.
Taproot appears on the second day after seed germination and has a massive root cap. It
elongates rapidly and grows almost vertically. It may vary from a few millimeters in diameter
in annual species to 10 cm in perennial species.Roots of peanut plants have a nodule that
result of mutualism symbiosis with fastening battery of Nitrogen, Rhizobium sp. The bacteria
can convert inert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia. Other bacteria convert the ammonia
into nitrites and nitrates that enrich the soil with a usable form of nitrogen. Peanut plants have
taproot with branch root that grows in around. This roots branch has temporary roots and can
be permanently rooted. If the temporary roots become a permanent root, so this root will have
a function to absorb nutrition in the ground, like roots in general.

The stem of peanut plants have sections and short in sized, initially the stem will grow
single, later as time goes will grow many branches like being clumped. The height of peanut
plants approximately 30-50 m or more, depends on varieties of peanuts. The stem not woody
and downy, there is the stem that grows creep and upright. The young stems are angular,
usually pubescent and solid with a large pith. As the plant grows, the stems become hollow
and tend to be cylindrical and shed hairs. The thickness of the stem is highly variable.
Generally, the bunch types have thicker stems. Internodes are short and highly condensed at
the base but are longer at the higher nodes.

Leaf of peanut plants has compound leaf types, consist of four sheet leaf, oval in
shape and hairy. The color of the leaf is green and dark green. Leaves at the top of the plant
usually bigger compared to below. The leaf that is located in the main stem is generally
bigger than the leaf that appears in a branch. Leaf of peanut has stipula (support leaf) with a
length of 2.5-3.5 cm and petiole (leaf stalk) 3-7 cm in length. Stomata appear on both sides of
the leaf.

The peanut flower is

produced on a slender pedicel
near the base of the plant. Each
flower consists of five petals: a
large banner, two lateral wings,
and a keel formed by two fused
petals. The keel petals enclose
the 9 stamens (androecium) and
pistil (gynoecium). The flowers
are shaped like butterflies,
yellow in color, have long stalks that grow from axillary. The part of the flower is petals,
sepals, stamens, and pistils. The petals have five sheets that are different from one another in
form. The bigger sheet is banner, on the right and left there are wings that unite in the
downstairs forming claws, the inside has the stigma of light green colored. sepals of the
flower is a narrow tube from the flower base that is called Hipantium and has a length of
about 2-7 cm. The flowers have 10 stamens, two of them have short sized. The Ordinarily,
the flowering process will happen after 4-6 weeks. Flower of peanuts doing pollination by
self in a night, blossom for 24 hours, then wilted and fall. After fertilization, the flower stalk
of the peanut curves downward, and the developing pod is forced into the ground by the
proliferation and elongation of cells under the ovary.

The pod of peanuts has hard-shell and white-browned colored. The pod typically
contains two seeds, each with a papery seed coat. The formation of the pod can happen after
insemination, fruit candidate will grow long, this case called Ginophor. After grow long, the
Ginophor will be pointing down and keep going into the ground. If pods have formed, the
growth process of Ginophor will stop. Ginophor is formed from a pod stalk that shapes in the
air, while the pods are formed inside the ground. The pods may not develop properly unless
the soil around them is well supplied with available calcium, regardless of the nutrients
available to the roots.

Seeds of peanut located inside the pod. Hard textured outer skin, that functions to
protect the seeds inside. Each seed consists of 2 cotyledons, upper stem axis and young leaf
primordia (epicotyl) and lower stem axis (hypocotyl) and primary root. The embryo of the
seed is straight rather than curved. The embryo contains all the leaves and the above-ground
parts that appear during the first two weeks of growth.Seeds of peanut have shaped round or
oval, wrapped by a thin layer that is colored white and red. The different color of seeds
depends on their varieties. Peanut seeds are eaten raw, salted and roasted.