Peanuts, along with beans and peas, belong to the single plant family, Leguminosae. Peanut seeds grow into a green oval-leafed plant about 45 centimetres tall, which develops delicate yellow flowers in the lower portion of the plant. After the flowers pollinate themselves and lose their petals, the flower stalk carrying the fertilized ovary, keeps growing. This causes it to bend and grow downwards into the soil. The peanut matures underground. From planting to harvesting, the growing cycle takes four to five months, depending on the type or variety.

Peanuts are grown for commercial purposes all over the world. The largest producers in Asia are China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. In America, these are the USA and Argentina, and in Africa Nigeria and Senegal.

Arguably being the best-known and most consumed nuts in the world, there are a lot of peanut confections. They are eaten raw, salted, dry roasted of roasted in oil. Peanuts are the main ingredient in most mixed nuts because of their relatively low cost. Peanuts are often used in recipes, especially in Asia cuisines, but also in South America and Africa. Also, they are commonly processed into peanut butter. Furthermore, the nuts a widely used in candy bars and cookies.

Other than consumption, peanuts have a particularly wide range of other appliances, varying from solvents, oils, dyes and paints to medicines, textiles, cosmetics, nitro-glycerine and plastics.

Peanuts are a great source of concentrated protein, rich in energy and contain health benefiting nutrients, minerals, antioxidants and vitamins that are essential for optimum health.

Being such a widely consumed nut, heath benefits of peanuts have been researched extensively. Large population studies have shown that when eaten in small amounts daily, peanuts reduce the risk of many chronic diseases. As an excellent source of resveratrol, a polyphenolic antioxidant, peanuts have protective function against cancers, heart disease, degenerative nerve disease, Alzheimer's disease, and viral/fungal infections. Just a hand full of peanuts per day provides enough recommended levels of phenolic antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, and protein.