[Groop]Oh no! I'm Nut-picking!

[Kevin Hall]

"Sudilovsky, Ariel" wrote:

> -------->I hate to nut-pick, but I must.  The peanut is in fact a nut-not a
> legume.  A legume is a pod, such as a pea or a bean, that splits into 2
> valves with the seeds attached to the lower edge of one of the valves.  By
> contrast a nut is a hard-shelled, solid textured, one-celled fruit, such as
> an acorn or hazelnut, that does not split open.  Clearly one should realize
> that a peanut, therefore, is a nut.  First, the peanut is not attached to

Actually, Ariel, a peanut (Arachis hypogaea) belongs to the family
Leguminosae (or legumes) and is *not* hard-shelled per se as most real
nuts are - it has a "skin" more than a hard shell like a walnut or an
almond, and is, in fact, not a nut but a rhizome.

> Another definition which should clear up any remaining questions is: A seed
> borne in a fruit having a hard shell, as the peanut or almond.
> 
> Webster's is a much truer and more valuable source for definitions than 3rd
> Rock.

And while I don't doubt that Webster's *may* be a more reliable source
than 3rd Rock for *much* information, in this case Webster's is wrong.

Part of this, however, is semantics. I've heard before that
"botanically" speaking a tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable. Yet
clearly, in common usage, a tomato IS a vegetable. :) That being the
case, while I *do* adamantly hold that a peanut is a rhizome, until they
have a rhizome section in the local grocery store, I'll continue to look
for my peanuts in the nut section. :)

Kevin

PS Mark, we REALLY need some new Groo & soon!!!!