Areca or betel palm
Family Palmae (or Arecaceae)
Areca catechu (= A. cathecu), areca or betel palm (A. catechu 1), is a slender erect monoecious palm (A. catechu 2), (A. catechu 3), up to 20-30 m tall, with large pinnate leaves. Inflorescences are borne in the axils of leaves. Male flowers numerous, very small, borne above the female flowers. The fruit is a fibrous drupe (A. catechu 4), variable in shape and size. The fruits are husked and the nuts (A. catechu 5) are dried in the sun. The endosperm of the betel nut contains a number of alkaloids like arecaline, and is used as a mild narcotic by millions of people in the East.
Distribution
The betel palm is of ancient cultivation in Malaysia and was taken to India (A. catechu 6) before the Christian era. The first record in Europe was by Herodotus in 340 BC. Also Marco Polo mentioned it.
Use
The usual practice is to wrap a piece of betel nut in a leaf of betel pepper together with some spices to improve the taste (A. catechu 7). The quid is chewed slowly and causes continuous salivation. The saliva is turned red and eventually the quid is spat out and not swallowed. On the long run the teeth are blackened. The habit of chewing betel is prevalent among all classes of people, regardless of religion, sex and age.