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There are many different sources for different kinds of nuts. It isn't necessarily common knowledge to know how nuts go from farm to table. We are here to help you understand where nuts are grown and what types of grown on bushes. So what nuts grow on bushes? There are two main nuts that grow on bushes. They are; hazelnuts peanuts. Go to top What Nut Grows Underground? While it is often categorized as a nut, a peanut is technically a legume. Legumes have a shell that folds around the main seed part also known as the edible peanut part. The peanut has a seed on the inside and a pod that encapsulates it. Usually, when we buy a pack of peanuts, they have already removed the pod part and it is much more convenient to eat. A peanut grows beneath the ground away from the sunlight. The mechanism of a peanut plant includes a root system, a peg, legume fruit (peanut), and leaves that are above ground. The entire plant looks like this figure below. The peanut plant forms pegs that are above ground and they grow from the nutrients provided by sunlight and water. These pegs then grow and penetrate the ground beneath the plant. The pegs then rest underneath the grown and grow into full size, mature peanuts. While underground they form their shell and the see inside grows to full maturity. Often, a single peanut plant can form up to 40 peanuts “seeds” beneath the ground. It takes about 140 to 150 days from the moment peanut seeds are planted to harvesting time. It can be very tricky to time out when to harvest because the soil cannot be too dry or too wet. When the soil is just right, the peanut legumes easily lift out of the ground during harvesting. Since peanuts grow below the ground, there is a lot of moisture that keeps the peanuts nice and warm. This moisture must be taken care of after the peanuts are harvested. Once the farmer has dug up the peanut plants, it is necessary to dry them out so they don’t mold and go bad. Peanut bushes are fantastic for the soil they grow in. Peanut plants only take about 5 gallons of water whereas other nut trees and plants take about 10 times that amount to produce one ounce. Also, peanut bushes are amazing at recycling nitrogen back into the soil. Nitrogen is usually depleted when other crops are planted but peanuts produce nitrogen when they grow. This means the soil is more enriched and nutritious after a peanut plant has been planted. This is all thanks to the peanut plant growing beneath the surface! Go to top What Nuts Are Not Considered Tree Nuts? There are a few nuts that are not considered tree nuts. In the above section, we discussed how peanuts are not nuts but they are legumes. This means someone that is allergic to tree nuts, may get away with being able to consume peanuts. Although trying something new should always be exercised with caution. Peanuts are part of the legume family. Other examples of legumes include: Chickpeas Peas Beans Lentils Lupins The above are all examples of a seed that has an outer shell protecting it. Besides peanuts, other “nuts” that are not technically nuts. Almonds, pistachios, and walnuts could be categorized as seeds since they are harvest from within a fleshy fruit. Although the fruits they are inside grown on trees. The almond "nut" that we eat comes in the form of a seed from a fruit we eat. Go to top Do Almonds Grow on a Tree or Bush? Almonds grow on a tree, but the almond "nut" that we are used to is found inside a soft-membrane fruit. In this case, almonds are not like peanuts. They do not grow on bushes and bury themselves beneath the ground. However, they grow inside of a fruit that hangs from a tree. The United States is the biggest producer of almonds, as it requires mild temperatures to grow. Many may confuse an almond tree as a bush because the trees are rather small and don’t take up much room. But the size of an almond tree can vary greatly. Unlike peanut buses, almond trees are sturdy and have roots that dive deep into the soil to ensure stability. The stone fruit is the official name for the fruit that encapsulates an almond. The seed from the stone fruit is the almond that ends up on kitchen tables. Other nuts that have a similar stone fruit casing are hazelnuts and walnuts. The almond tree originated in the Mediterranean climates. Most of the almond trees that grow in the United States are found in California. Animals in these regions often eat the stone fruit from the almond tree and spread the seeds across the region. This is nature's tactic to reproduce for thousands of years! There may be lingering questions about the difference between nuts that grow on bushes and nuts that grow on trees. We can explain more about the difference below. Go to top Why Do We Call Peanuts “Nuts” Although they are Legumes? Calling peanuts "nuts" is mostly a cultural habit that created the categorization. The categorization of peanuts as nuts is due to how we use them. Many objects in our lives are categorized around how we use that object rather than by its scientific genre. For example, it is the same with tomatoes. Tomatoes aren’t vegetables but we often think of them as such. This categorization is due to how we consume tomatoes. It would be odd if we all ate tomatoes like apples because that wouldn’t taste good. Whereas peanuts, boiling peanuts then eating them like we eat legumes wouldn’t be the optimal way to enjoy a peanut. Rather, we eat peanuts with other tree nuts like cashews. Go to top Which Other Nuts Grow Similar to Almonds? Other nuts that grow inside of a fleshy fruit include hazelnuts and pistachios. Consumers usually buy pistachios with the hard shell surrounding it. The shell and the pistachio nut inside are both found inside a greater fruit called a drupe. This drupe fruit contains the nut that we find in our homes. The texture of the fruit that surrounds the nut is closely related to that of a peach. This fruit grows in a pistachio tree and either gets picked by a human or animal or falls to the ground. The fleshy fruit on the outside of the seed deteriorates manually or naturally and the seed is revealed. Go to top Are Hazelnuts Legumes Since They Grow in Bushes? Hazelnuts are grown in bushes that are similar to small trees however this doesn’t put them in the same category as peanuts. Hazelnuts are in the nut family and the peanut is the only nut in the legume family. The main difference between the peanut that grows underground and on a bush is how it is harvested. A peanut is harvested by being pulled out of the ground. Hazelnuts are similar to other nuts but they are lower to the ground. It can be easy to think that hazelnuts are more similar to peanuts due to how they both grow low or beneath the ground.

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