Areca catechu

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Areca catechu

Fruiting specimen

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Liliopsida
Order:	Arecales
Family:	Arecaceae
Genus:	Areca
Species:	A. catechu

Binomial name

Areca catechu
L.^[1]

Areca catechu, known commonly as Betel palm or Betel nut tree or Pinang is a species of palm which grows in much of the tropical Pacific, Asia, and parts of east Africa. It is a medium-sized tree growing to 20 m tall, with a trunk 20-30 cm in diameter. The leaves are 1.5-2 m long, pinnate, with numerous, crowded leaflets. It is also known as Puga in Sanskrit, Supari in Marathi.

19th century drawing of Areca catechu

Areca catechu is grown for its economically important seed crop, the Betel nut. The seed contains alkaloids such as arecaine and arecoline, which when chewed is intoxicating and is also slightly addictive. Areca palms are grown in India, Malaysia, Taiwan and many other Asian countries for their seeds.

Penang Island, off the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, is named after pinang, a local name for betel nut.

The Areca palm is also used as an interior landscaping species. It is often used in large indoor areas such as malls and hotels. It won't fruit or reach full size. Indoors it is a slow growing, low water, high light plant that is sensitive to spider mite and occasionally mealy bug.

Extract of Areca catechu has been shown to have antidepressant properties,^[2] but it may be addictive.^[3]