10/03/2026
🥜 Did You Know?
Perennial peanut and the peanut grown for peanut butter may share the word peanut—and they’re actually relatives—but they’re different species grown for very different purposes! 🌱
🥜 The peanut we eat (Arachis hypogaea) is an annual crop grown primarily for the peanuts that develop underground. Those are the peanuts that can eventually become boiled or roasted peanuts, peanut butter, peanut oil, and more.
🌿 Perennial peanut (Arachis glabrata) is a long-lived perennial forage. Instead of being grown for edible peanuts, it’s valued for its nutritious leaves and stems and is commonly used for hay and grazing.
And here’s one of the coolest differences: once a perennial peanut field is established, the plants grow back from their underground rhizomes year after year, so we can harvest the forage without replanting the field every season. 🚜💚
Same plant family. Different species. Two very different jobs!
Around here, we’re pretty partial to the one that turns into beautiful bales of Perennial Peanut hay! 😉🌱🥜
