An annual, herbaceous, leguminous plant (family Fabaceae), or its seed. Groundnuts originated in tropical South America, where they were domesticated, and they are now cultivated extensively in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate regions. The yellow-orange flowers appear above ground and last for one day. After fertilization a pedicel (stalk) at the base of the ovary forms a thread-like structure, called a peg, which pushes the ovary into the soil, where the fruit pod develops. Groundnuts are eaten raw or cooked, made into peanut butter, and are pressed to extract oil, leaving a cake used as livestock feed.