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Legume

Adapted from Wikipedia · Explorer experience

A variety of legumes, including beans and lentils, shown for educational purposes.

Legumes are special plants that belong to the pea family. They are grown all around the world for food, animal feed, and to help the soil stay healthy.

One fun fact about legumes is that they have tiny helpers called bacteria living in little bumps on their roots. These bacteria help the plants get important nutrients from the air, which makes the plants grow better. When the plants die, they leave these nutrients in the soil, helping future plants grow too.

Legumes come in many tasty forms, like beans, lentils, and peas. They are eaten by people and animals and can be used to make oils and other foods. Some legumes are grown just for their pretty flowers, while others help keep the soil rich and healthy.

Images

Peanut leaves and freshly dug pods from Stuckey, South Carolina
Root nodules on Wisteria vines that help fix nitrogen in the soil, shown with a hazelnut for size comparison.
A close-up of white clover flowers, also known as Trifolium repens.
A market stall in Darjeeling, India, displaying various pulses for sale.
Diagram showing how nitrogen moves through the environment in the nitrogen cycle.

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Legume, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Images from Wikimedia Commons. Tap any image to view credits and license.