Areca catechu

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Cladus: Commelinids
Ordo: Arecales

Familia: Arecaceae
Subfamilia: Arecoideae
Tribus: Areceae
Subtribus: Arecinae
Genus: Areca
Species: Areca catechu
Name

Areca catechu L., 1753
Synonyms

Homotypic
Areca faufel Gaertn., Fruct. Sem. Pl. 1: 19 (1788), nom. superfl.
Areca hortensis Lour., Fl. Cochinch.: 568 (1790), nom. superfl.
Heterotypic
Areca cathechu Burm.f., Fl. Indica: 241 (1768), orth. var.
Areca catechu var. nigra Giseke, Prael. Ord. Nat. Pl.: 73 (1792).
Sublimia areca Comm. ex Mart., Hist. Nat. Palm. 3: 169 (1838), not validly publ.
Areca catechu var. alba Blume, Rumphia 2: 68 (1839).
Areca himalayana Griff. ex H.Wendl. in O.C.E.de Kerchove de Denterghem, Palmiers: 231 (1878), pro syn.
Areca nigra Giseke ex H.Wendl. in O.C.E.de Kerchove de Denterghem, Palmiers: 231 (1878), pro syn.
Areca catechu var. batanensis Becc., Philipp. J. Sci. 3: 304 (1908).
Areca macrocarpa Becc., Philipp. J. Sci., C 4: 601 (1909).
Areca catechu var. longicarpa Becc., Philipp. J. Sci. 6: 229 (1911).
Areca catechu f. communis Becc., Philipp. J. Sci. 14: 304 (1919).
Areca catechu var. silvatica Becc., Philipp. J. Sci. 14: 304 (1919).

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Asie
Philippines

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus II: 1189. Reference page. "cathecu"

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2018. Areca catechu in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2018 Nov. 27. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Areca catechu. Published online. Accessed: Nov. 27 2018.
The Plant List 2013. Areca catechu in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published online. Accessed: 2018 Nov. 27.
Tropicos.org 2018. Areca catechu. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 27 Nov. 2018.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Areca catechu in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service.
USDA, NRCS. 2006. The PLANTS Database, 6 March 2006 (http://plants.usda.gov). Data compiled from various sources by Mark W. Skinner. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Vernacular names
বাংলা: সুপারি
čeština: Areka obecná
Deutsch: Betelnusspalme
English: Betel palm
suomi: Pähkinäbetelpalmu
français: Palmier à bétel
magyar: Bételpálma
հայերեն: Արեկնի
മലയാളം: കമുക്
Nederlands: Betelpalm
中文: 檳榔

Areca catechu is a species of palm which grows in much of the tropical Pacific, Asia, and parts of east Africa. The palm is believed to have originated in the Philippines,[1] but is widespread in cultivation and is considered naturalized in southern China (Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan), Taiwan, India, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, many of the islands in the Pacific Ocean, and also in the West Indies.[2][3][4]

Common names in English include areca palm, areca nut palm, betel palm, betel nut palm, Indian nut, Pinang palm and catechu.[1] In English this palm is called the betel tree because its fruit, the areca nut, is often chewed along with the betel leaf, a leaf from a vine of the family Piperaceae.

Characteristics
19th century drawing of Areca catechu
Growth

Areca catechu is a medium-sized palm tree, growing straight to 20 m (66 ft) tall, with a trunk 10–15 cm (4–6 in) in diameter. The leaves are 1.5–2 m (4.9–6.6 ft) long, pinnate, with numerous, crowded leaflets.
Chemical composition

The seed contains alkaloids such as arecaidine and arecoline, which, when chewed, are intoxicating and slightly addictive. Areca palms are grown in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and many other Asian countries for their seeds.

The seed also contains condensed tannins (procyanidins) called arecatannins[5] which are carcinogenic.
Uses
Intensive farming of Areca catechu at a spice plantation in Curti, Goa.
Main article: Areca nut

Areca catechu is grown for its commercially important seed crop, the areca nut.

The areca nut is also popular for chewing throughout some Asian countries, such as China, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, and India and the Pacific Islands, notably Papua New Guinea, where it is very popular. Chewing areca nut is quite popular among working classes in Taiwan. The nut itself can be addictive and has direct link to oral cancers.[6][7] Chewing areca nut is a cause of oral submucous fibrosis, a premalignant lesion which frequently progresses to mouth cancer.[8] Areca nuts in Taiwan will usually contain artificial additives such as limestone powder. The extract of Areca catechu may be addictive.[9]

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 will not fruit or reach full size if grown in this way. Indoors, it is a slow growing, low water, high light plant that is sensitive to spider mites and occasionally mealybugs.

In India the dry, fallen leaves are collected and hot-pressed into disposable palm leaf plates and bowls.[10]
Relationship with humans
Names of places

The areca nut is important in the Austronesian civilization, especially in the modern day Indonesia and Malaysia. Actually, there are numerous city and areal names in Indonesia and Malaysia using the words pinang, jambi or jambe (areca in Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese, and Old Malay). For example, the cities of Tanjung Pinang, Pangkal Pinang in Indonesia, the Indonesian province of Jambi and Penang Island (Pulau Pinang) off the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Fua Mulaku in the Maldives, Guwahati in Assam, and coastal areas of Kerala and Karnataka in India, are also some of the places named after a local name for areca nut.
References

"Areca catechu". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2008-03-02.
Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Jones, D. (2001), Palms Throughout The World, Reed New Holland, Australia.
Heatubun, C.D., Dransfield, J., Flynn, T., Tjitrosoedirdjo, S.S., Mogea, J.P. & Baker, W.J. (2012). A monograph of the betel nut palms (Areca: Arecaceae) of East Malesia. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 168: 147-173.
Kusumoto, Ines Tomoco; Nakabayashi, Takeshi; Kida, Hiroaki; Miyashiro, Hirotsugu; Hattori, Masao; Namba, Tsuneo; Shimotohno, Kunitada (1995). "Screening of various plant extracts used in ayurvedic medicine for inhibitory effects on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) protease". Phytotherapy Research. 9 (3): 180–184. doi:10.1002/ptr.2650090305. S2CID 84577539.
Thomas and MacLennan (1992). "Slaked lime and betel nut cancer in Papua New Guinea". The Lancet. 340 (8819): 577–578. doi:10.1016/0140-6736(92)92109-S. PMID 1355157. S2CID 34296427.
Hemantha Amarasinghe (2010). "Betel-quid chewing with or without tobacco is a major risk factor for oral potentially malignant disorders in Sri Lanka: A case-control study". Oral Oncology. 46 (4): 297–301. doi:10.1016/j.oraloncology.2010.01.017. PMID 20189448.
Ray JG, Chatterjee R, Chaudhuri K (2019). "Oral submucous fibrosis: A global challenge. Rising incidence, risk factors, management, and research priorities". Periodontology 2000. 80 (1): 200–212. doi:10.1111/prd.12277. PMID 31090137. S2CID 155089425.
Marcello Spinella (2001). The psychopharmacology of herbal medicine: plant drugs that alter mind, brain, and behavior. MIT Press. pp. 233–. ISBN 978-0-262-69265-6. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
Palm Leaf Plates Archived 2016-09-16 at the Wayback Machine on the website TheWholeLeafCo.dom; viewed in September 2016