Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Legume

A legume is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), otherwise a fruit of these plants. A legume fruit is a simple dry fruit that develops from a simple carpel and generally dehisces (opens along a seam) on two sides. A general name for this type of fruit is a "pod", although pod is as well applied to a few other fruit types. Well-known legumes contain peas, beans, alfalfa, clover, lentils, lupins, and peanuts. A peanut is not a nut in the botanical sense; a peanut is an indehiscent legume, i.e., one whose pod does not split open on its own.

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