Compiled by Kye Chapman, 30 June 2026

 

There are multiple plants that go by the name Perennial Peanut, but most commonly it is Arachis glabrata, or Rhizomal Perennial Peanut (RPP).  All perennial peanuts are members of Fabaceae, or the legume family, and are closely related to edible peanuts (Arachis hypogaea).

Typically in Central Florida, ‘Ecoturf’ is the most common variety and can be used to graze horses, cattle, goats, and even as a Florida Friendly Landscaping groundcover. When at its happiest, RPP can typically grow up to 12 inches in height, though some landscaping cultivars may stay shorter. As the name suggests, its main growth is through rhizomes and not through seed. ‘Ecoturf’ specifically has some benefits that other varieties may not. Some pasture varieties of RPP, including the long-standing champion ‘Florigraze,’ are declining due to peanut stunt virus. ‘Ecoturf’ RPP is considered largely disease resistant compared to these other varieties and does not decline as readily as ‘Florigraze’ to the virus. Regular grazing or mowing further reduces likeliness of disease in RPP.

To keep your RPP happy, plant it in direct sun and well-draining soil. Once established, it is drought tolerant and does not like to sit in frequently flooded or saturated soil. RPP is a long-lived perennial, with some pastures in the panhandle being decades old. It is cold hardy for central Florida and will continue to be evergreen unless frost or extreme drought forces it into dormancy.

Perennial Peanuts in general have multiple benefits for landowners. Dense networks of underground stems, or rhizomes, can greatly reduce or even prevent soil erosion. Perennial Peanuts also are nitrogen fixators, meaning specialized bacteria live in the roots that can take nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it into a form that plants can use. Different studies pull different numbers, but consistently, Perennial Peanuts can put 100kg of nitrogen per hectare into the soil. Between this and central Florida’s naturally high phosphorus, pastures planted with peanut can expect to have much lower fertilizer needs compared to grass pastures.

Perennial Peanuts readily mix into warm-season grass pastures and can provide benefits to the grass as well. The nitrogen fixing properties of RPP reduce the need for fertilizers even when intermixed with other plants. Perennial Peanut added to Bahiagrass pastures promotes soil microbe biodiversity, promoting more disease resistant pastures than Bahiagrass alone.

RPP has earned the nickname “Florida Alfalfa” by some ranchers. With comparable nutrient value to alfalfa, RPP also has the benefits of being heat and drought tolerant. Cattle gain more weight more quickly when allowed pastures mixed with RPP than when grazed on Bahiagrass alone.

 

For cattle, RPP has:

•      Digestibility ranging from 68-72%

•    48-52% for bahiagrass

•      Crude protein 14-18%

•    8-12% for bahiagrass

 

For horses, RPP has:

•      Crude protein 14-18%

•      Neutral detergent fiber 42%

•      Acid detergent fiber 32%

•      Total digestive nutrients 60%

•      Digestible energy 1.1 Mcal/lb

 

Furthermore, feeding horses Perennial Peanut hay is not associated with the reduced feeding time or inactivity that is found in some legume hays. Reduced inactivity results in lower risk for abnormal behaviors like wood chewing, weaving, and cribbing in stabled horses. RPP is also more readily accepted as a forage than Bermudagrass in side-by-side comparisons and is overall well-accepted by horses.

Being a broadleaf plant, introducing RPP may also provide some challenges with weed management. Imazapic can be used during establishment year and during growing seasons without killing RPP. Glyphosate can be used after the establishment year and during dormant periods. Please note that these herbicides will temporarily damage Perennial Peanut, but it typically recovers in 40-60 days. Contact your local UF/IFAS Extension for specific pesticide rates and recommendations.

RPP is not without its drawbacks, though. It has low survivability on sites with frequently saturated or flooded soils, posing a major challenge across peninsular Florida. Full or mostly shaded areas will take significantly longer to establish and may not survive heavy grazing. This is on top of an already notoriously long establishment period of 1-3 years, with pastures not ready for grazing until year 2. Because of this, many people set aside acreage to grow RPP as a hay crop instead. Additionally, RPP tends to have significantly higher upfront costs than most warm-season pasture grasses. The lack of viable seed means rhizome sprigging or sod are the best options for establishment. There are programs, like the NRCS cost-share program EQIP, that can help cover the costs of pasture planting.

        Whether you replace your pastures entirely or simply switch from buying Alfalfa hay to peanut hay, perennial peanut can help make your operations more conservation focused. Fore more information about this and other practices, contact your local Soil and Water Conservation District. Further information can be found from the following papers, from which this information is derived:

 

•      Perennial Peanut – Gardening Solutions

Perennial peanut. UF/IFAS Extension Gardening Solutions. (n.d.). https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/perennial-peanut/

•      SS-AGR-349/AG358: Rhizoma Perennial Peanut

Williams, M. J., Newman, Y. C., & Blount, A. (2018, January 9). SS-AGR-349/AG358: Rhizoma Perennial Peanut. Ask IFAS - Powered by EDIS. https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AG358

•      SS-AGR-482/AG478: Integrating Rhizoma Perennial Peanut into Bahiagrass Pastures Enhances Beneficial Soil Microbes in Florida

Liao, H.-L., & Erhunmwense, A. S. (2024, August 2). SS-AGR-482/AG478: Integrating rhizoma perennial peanut into bahiagrass pastures enhances beneficial soil microbes in Florida. Ask IFAS - Powered by EDIS. https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AG478

•      HS1474/HS1474: Perennial Peanut as a Potential Living Mulch and Nitrogen Source for Citrus and Other Orchard Crops in Florida

Shahid, M. A., Leaks, K., Blount, A., & Mackowiak, C. (2023, November 2). HS1474/HS1474: Perennial Peanut as a potential living mulch and nitrogen source for citrus and other orchard crops in Florida. Ask IFAS - Powered by EDIS. https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS1474

•      SS-AGR-421/AG421: Strip-Planting Rhizoma Peanut into Grazing Systems

Dubeux, J., Sollenberger, L., Vendramini, J., Wallau, M., Blount, A., Garcia-Jimenez, L., Santos, E., & Jaramillo, D. (2022, February 17). SS-AGR-421/AG421: Strip-planting Rhizoma Peanut into grazing systems. Ask IFAS - Powered by EDIS. https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AG421

•      AN390/AN390: Acceptability of Rhizoma Peanut Forage by Horses and Its Benefits on Feeding Behavior

Vasco, C., Dubeux, J., Santos, E., Wickens, C., & Warren, L. (2023, November 9). AN390/AN390: Acceptability of Rhizoma peanut forage by horses and its benefits on feeding behavior. Ask IFAS - Powered by EDIS. https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AN390

•      SS-AGR-65/AA216: Pastures and Forage Crops for Horses

Wallau, M., Johnson, E. L., Vendramini, J., Wickens, C., & Bainum, C. (2026, April 8). SS-AGR-65/AA216: Pastures and forage crops for horses. Ask IFAS - Powered by EDIS. https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AA216

•      SS-AGR-445/AG445: Pintoi Peanut: A Seed-propagated Perennial Peanut Forage Option for Florida

Sanchez, J. M. D., Vendramini, J., Silveira, M. L., Dubeux, J. C. B., Sollenberger, L. E., & Moriel, P. (2020, December 9). SS-AGR-445/AG445: Pintoi Peanut: A seed-propagated perennial peanut forage option for Florida. Ask IFAS - Powered by EDIS. https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AG445

•      Munch, D. (n.d.). Alfalfa in the Red: Rising Costs, Falling Returns. American Farm Bureau Federation. https://www.fb.org/market-intel/alfalfa-in-the-red-rising-costs-falling-returns