Ground"nut` (?), n. Bot.
(a)
The fruit of the Arachis hypogaea (native country uncertain); the peanut; the earthnut.
(b)
A leguminous, twining plant (Apios tuberosa), producing clusters of dark purple flowers and having a root tuberous and pleasant to the taste.
(c)
The dwarf ginseng (Aralia trifolia). [U. S.] Gray.
(d)
A European plant of the genus Bunium (B. flexuosum) having an edible root of a globular shape and sweet, aromatic taste; -- called also earthnut, earth chestnut, hawknut, and pignut.
© Webster 1913.