The Peanut Consists Of An External Hull (or Shell) (21-29%) Surrounding The Nut (79-71%). Peanut Hulls, Not To Be Confounded With Peanut Skins (which Are The Thin Paper-like Seed Coats Enclosing The Kernel), Are A By-product Of Peanut Processing. The Shelling Of Peanuts Is Often The Second Operation (after Cleaning) Of Peanut Processing, As Both The Production Of Peanut Oil And The Production Of Peanut Snacks, Peanut Butter And Other Peanut-based Foods Require Kernels Without Hulls (except The Production Of In-shell Peanuts). Peanut Hulls Usually Consist Of Fragmented Hulls With Variable Amounts Of Whole Or Broken Kernels. The peanut or groundnut is a species in the legume or "bean" family. The peanut was probably first domesticated and cultivated in the valleys of Paraguay. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing 30 to 50 cm (1.0 to 1.6 ft) tall. The leaves are opposite, pinnate with four leaflets (two opposite pairs; no terminal leaflet); each leaflet is 1 to 7 cm (⅜ to 2¾ in) long and 1 to 3 cm (⅜ to 1 inch) across.