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Betel Palm
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Betel Palm
ntroduced Photo: Tabish
Common name: Betel Palm, Areca palm, Areca-nut palm • Hindi: चामरपुष्प chamarpushpa, गुवाक guvak, गूआ, गुवा guwa, खपुर khapur, पूग pug, पूगी pugi, पुंगी pungi, सुपारी supari, उद्वेग udveg • Manipuri: ꯀ꯭ꯋꯥ ꯄꯥꯝꯕꯤ ক্ৱা পাম্বী Kwa pambi • Marathi: पोफळ pophal OR पोफळी pophali, पूग pug, पूगफल pugaphal, पुगीफल OR पुगीफळ pugiphala, सुपारी supari • Tamil: அடைக்காய் atai-k-kay, சகுந்தம் chakuntam, சாமரபுட்பம் chamara-putpam, கமுகு kamuku, கந்தி kanti, கூந்தற்கமுகு kuntar-kamaku, பூகம் pukam, விம்பு vimpu • Malayalam: കമുക് kamuk, കവുങ്ങ് kavung • Telugu: ఘోంట ghonta, ఖపురము khapuramu, క్రముకము kramukamu, పోక poka, పూగము pugamu • Kannada: ಅಡಕೆ adake, ಅಡಿಕೆ adike • Bengali: সুপারি supari • Konkani: पॉफळ pophala, सुपारी supari • Gujarati: ઍરિકૅ ayrike, સોપારી sopari • Sanskrit: अकोटः akoth, चामरपुष्प chamarpushpa, गुवाकः guvakah, खपुर khapur, पूगफल pugaphal, पूगः pugh, पूगी pugi, उद्वेग udveg, वल्कतरुः valktaruh • Nepali: सुपारि supari
Botanical name: Areca catechu    Family: Arecaceae (Palm family)
This is the palm which produces to popular betel-nut or supari, which is an essential ingradient of paan. 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 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. Flowers are unisexual, with both male and female  flowers borne in the same inflorescence. Inflorescences are crowded, much-branched panicles borne below the leaves. Each terminal branch has a few female flowers borne at the base and numerous male flowers extending from there out to the branch tip. Flowers of both sexes have six tepals, are stalkless, creamy-white, fragrant; male flowers are minute, deciduous,  have six stamens, arrowhead-shaped anthers, rudimentary ovary; female  flowers are larger (1.2–2 cm long), with six small sterile stamens and a  three-celled ovary bearing a  triangular stigma with three points at the  apex. Fibrous, ovoid fruits, yellow to orange or red when ripe, contain the betel nut. Betel palm is native to Philippines, widely cultivated in India and SE Asia.
Identification credit: Tabish Photographed in Manipur, Maharashtra & Arunachal Pradesh.
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