Areca catechu

Syn. Areca hortensis

IUCN Red List Least Concern (LC)

Local name

Betel Nut Palm (English)
Supari (Hindi)
Sopari (Gujarati)

Tree type

Evergreen Deciduous

Family: Arecaceae

20m

Indicated uses

Medicinal Edible Ornamental Avenue Other

Flowering & fruiting

Flowering Fruiting

Key characters

Bark

Trunk slender, straight, unarmed, grey, conspicuously ringed with leaf scars; topped by a smooth green crownshaft.

Leaves

Leaves are pinnately compound, 1.5–2 m long, with numerous crowded leaflets.

Flower

Inflorescences much-branched, borne below the leaves. Flowers unisexual, creamy-white and fragrant; a few larger female flowers at the base of each branch and many minute male flowers towards the tip.

Fruit / Seeds

Fruits ovoid, fibrous, up to about 4 × 2.5 cm, green ripening to yellow, orange or red; each contains one seed (the areca nut or supari).

Did you know?

The seed (supari) is an essential ingredient of paan and has been chewed for over 4,000 years. It contains the alkaloid arecoline, which is mildly stimulating and addictive; In India, its fallen leaves are hot-pressed into eco-friendly disposable plates and bowls.

Distribution

Philippines, Andaman Is., Bangladesh, Cambodia, China South-Central, India, Malaya, Nicobar Is. Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam.