Question

The botanical name of groundnut is.
A. Cicer arietinum
B. Glycine max
C. Arachis hypogea
D. Lens esculentus

Answer 1

Hint: Groundnut is also known as peanut in common language. It is a grain legume but also classified as an oil crop due to its high oil content. Botanist Carl Linnaeus named this species. They develop underground.

Complete answer: Groundnuts are usually known as the bean or pea. Peanut pods do not grow above the ground, instead, they develop underground. Because of this characteristic, Carl Linnaeus named the species hypogaea that means underground. Peanut is a legume which is usually grown in tropical and subtropical areas. It has nitrogen-fixing bacteria in its roots. Peanuts require less nitrogen-containing fertilizers and improve soil fertility as well. Some physical characteristics of groundnut are as follows:
a) The leaves are opposite and pinnate.
b) Flowers are yellowish-orange in colour and they grow on axillary clusters on the stem. Flowers are usually present for only one day.
c) The highly elongated floral cup is present at the base of the flower which appears to be the flower stem, is actually an ovary.
d) Peanut pods have an unusual feature to grow inside the ground which is known as geocarpy. The genus of the groundnut is Arachis while the species is hypogea.
So, the correct answer is option C.

Note: The order of groundnut is Fabales. Groundnuts belong to the family Fabaceae which is also known as Leguminosae. Family Fabaceae is also known as the peanut family.