Legume
The term
legume has two related meanings in
Botany:
- The common name for plant species in the Family Fabaceae
- The name of a type of fruit, characteristic of legumes.
- A legume is a simple dry fruit that develops from a simple pistil and usually dehisces (opening along a seam) on two sides. Another name for this type of fruit is a pod, although pod is also applied to a few other fruit types. Well known plants that have legume fruits are peas, beans, and peanuts. A peanut is an indehiscent legume — that is, it does not split open along a seam. A peanut is not a nut in the botanical use of the word.
