Betel Nut

Betel Nut

Areca catechu (betel nut palm)
Arecaceae (Arecoideae), palm family 
Common names;betel nut palm, areca, areca-nut (English); pugua (Guam), poc (Pohnpei), pu (Chuuk), bu (Yap), bua (Palau), buai(New Ireland: Kuanua), buei (New Ireland: Pala), vua (New Ireland: Lamekot)

Betel nut (Areca catechu) is a slender, single-trunked palm that  can  grow  to  30  m  (100  ft).  It  is  cultivated  from  East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula across tropical Asia and Indonesia  to  the  central  Pacific  and  New  Guinea.  The “nut”  (actually  the  seed  endosperm)  is  chewed  as  a  stimulant masticatory  by  5%  of  the  world’s  population,  making it  more  popular  than  chewing  gum  but  not  as  popular  as tobacco. Use of betel nut is often culturally or socially ritualized, and there are elaborate ceremonies attending its use in various  Asian  and  Pacific  cultures.  At  the  same  time, betel chewing is stigmatized by Western cultures that find the  red  saliva  and  blackened  teeth  resulting  from  regular use  (not  to  mention  the  spitting  out  of  the  copious  red saliva) to be esthetically disgusting.

The  nuts,  husks,  young  shoots,  buds,  leaves,  and  roots  are used in various medicinal preparations.

Masticant/stimulant
The fresh or dried endosperm of the seed is the betel nut of  commerce.  The  betel  quid  (wad  of  chewable  ingredients) includes the fresh or dried seed of betel nut, a fresh leaf of betel pepper (Piper betle), a dab of slaked lime, and various  flavorings  (cutch,  cardamom,  clove,  tobacco,  or gambier).  Eight  closely  related  alkaloids  are  responsible for  the  stimulant  effect;  the  alkaloid  levels  are  highest  in the unripe fruit and this may be why some cultures prefer the  unripe  nuts  for  consumption:  they  give  a  better  buzz. Note that when chewed for the stimulant effect betel quid is never swallowed and the copious saliva resulting is spat out.  However,  when  used  medicinally  betel  nut  may  be taken internally. One of its effects is a powerful stimulus to intestinal peristalsis; betel nut is used to treat a long list of ailments. The Indian pan (pronounced pon) is a common after dinner  treat,  acting  against  post-meal  lethargy  and as a digestif.

Beautiful/fragrant flowers
The fragrant flowers are used in weddings and funerals in some SE Asian countries. 

Timber
The trunks of culled trees provide a source of construction material. Either split or whole they are used for rafters and for wattle in house construction; they are used in constructing elaborate crematory and temporary structures.

Fuelwood
Fallen fronds, bracts, inflorescences could be used for fuel; culled  trees  could  be  used  as  firewood.  In  practice,  the husks removed from the fruits during processing are used as domestic fuel after drying.