Areca

Areca is a genus of about 50 species of palms in the family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from the islands of the Philippines, Malaysia and India, across Southeast Asia to Melanesia.[2][3] The generic name Areca is derived from a name used locally on the Malabar Coast of India.

Areca
Areca catechu – 1897 illustration[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Arecoideae
Tribe: Areceae
Subtribe: Arecinae
Genus: Areca
L.
Type species
Areca catechu [2]
Synonyms[3]
  • Mischophloeus Scheff.
  • Gigliolia Becc.
  • Pichisermollia H.C.Monteiro
  • Arecus

Usage

Khichdi India's national dish and prasāda in a traditional areca leaf bowl at ISKCON Temple Bangalore

The best-known member of the genus is A. catechu, the areca nut palm.[2][4] Several species of areca nuts, known for their bitter and tangy taste, raw or dried, are routinely used for chewing, especially in combination with the leaves of betel and dried leaves of tobacco. Areca nut is also popularly referred to as betel nut because of its usage for chewing with betel leaves. In Assam, areca nut is also known as tamul in the local dialect.

Species

(51 species)

See also

  • Worldwide areca yield
  • Dypsis lutescens, a plant also sometimes referred to as "areca palm"

References

  1. Areca catechu – the Areca palm. In botanical drawing from Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen – by Franz Eugen Köhler, in 1897.
  2. Charlie D. Heatubun; John Dransfield; Thomas Flynn; Sri S. Tjitrosoedirjo; Johanis P. Mogea; William J. Baker (2012). "A monograph of the betel nut palms (Areca: Arecaceae) of East Malesia". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 168 (2): 147–173. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2011.01199.x.
  3. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  4. Zumbroich, Thomas J. (2008). "The origin and diffusion of betel chewing: A synthesis of evidence from South Asia, Southeast Asia and beyond". E-Journal of Indian Medicine. 1 (3): 87–140.


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