ABSTRACT
This chapter provides information on uses, folk medicine, chemistry, germplasm, distribution, ecology, cultivation, harvesting, yields, energy, and biotic factors of Betel-Nut Palm. Betel chewing is often considered as an after-dinner or social affair. Chewing colors the saliva red and stains the teeth and gums black, eventually destroying the teeth, at least according to one school of thought. Reported from the Indochina-Indonesia Center of Diversity, the betel palm, or cvs thereof, is reported to tolerate disease, insects, laterite, poor soil, shade, and slope. Varieties are selected on basis of size and shape of fruits and nuts, hardness and astringency of nuts, and various properties of the nuts. Areca-nut palm is considered native to Malaysia, where it is cultivated extensively. It is also found throughout the East Indies and Philippines. In India, Sri Lanka, Assam, Burma, Madagascar, and East Africa, it is cultivated from the coastal areas up to about 1,000m.
