Glycine max (L.) Merrill. A green, bushy legume that is the world’s single largest provider of protein and edible oil for mankind’s use. This summer annual plant varies in height from less than a foot (0.3 meter) to more than three feet (1.0 meter) tall. The seeds (soybeans) are borne in pods, and historically have contained 13%-26% oil and 38%-45% protein (on a moisture-free basis). The traditional soybean, possessing (average) 20% oil content, contains an average of 3% stachyose within its meal (i.e., the solids remaining after the soybean oil is removed).