Leguminosae is the genus

there are 12,000 kinds of leguminous plants in the world.  Many produce seeds which are of major importance to feeding the world

Peanut
Groundnut
Monkey Nut
Goober

GROUNDNUTS (peanuts) have to be dug out of the soil at harvest like a root crop.   In the united States we use machinery, but the major growing areas of India and China still bring in huge crops by hand digging.  India is the largest and China is the next biggest crop, but Nigeria also raises large peanut crops.  The large peanut industry in the United States is an enduring memorial to the ability of one man - George Washington Carver.

The peanut is high in protein (30%) and oil (50%) and rich in vitamins B and E.   

Peanut butter is made by removing the skin and grinding the roasted nuts.   Peanut oil is one of the most important fats used to make margarine.   

Haus Groundnut

This plant is grown in the drier parts of Tropical West Africa.   Upper Senegal and the Niger basis are the prime areas as well as the Gold Coast, Togo, Dahomey, and North Nigeria.

The seeds are sold in markets.  In the Gold Coast a food is prepared adding SHEA BUTTER to the GROUNDNUT kernels and the mixture is pounded until it is pulverized..

Other edible Species:

Bambarra Groundnut  

Like the peanut, this bean bears its fruit in the soil.   The seeds are kidney shaped and are dark brown. The native method of preparing is
1)  cooked in the fresh state
2)  roasted and pounded into a meal and  used as a stock for soup.
3)  meal mixed with oil and condiments and salt and fried and shaped into small balls
4)  "popped" like Indian corn by roasting the seeds with sand on a pan and cracking with a stone to eat as a snack.

Wattle   A member of the Acacia family, there are over 800 kinds of acacia trees scattered over the globe, many prized for their gum arabic which oozes from their branches.   The A. albida variety in the savannahs of Africa give us edible seed pods 6" long.  The A. concinna variety in Asia.  The natives of India eat the beans after roasting.

Barbados Pride
Coral Pea
Red Sanderwood
Red Tree     Grown in Floridian and the tropics, the tree bears 8" seed pods and when dried exposes 8-12 seeds per pod.  

Hog Peanut   The climbing wild beans of North America bear pods near the roots, each of which contains a brown seed about the size and shape of a peanut.   These seeds are very abundant and are eagerly sought by WILD PIGS, hence the name.  The North American Indians used the seeds as a stable food.   They would rob rodent's nests to get to the cache of beans, leaving grains of corn as a replacement.