betel

Areca Palm

species

FamilyArecaceae

Native toPhilippines

Observations2,864

Climbers dioecious. Stems rooted at nodes, 2.5-5 mm thick, slightly woody. Petiole 2-5 cm, very finely powdery pubescent; prophylls ca. 1/3 as long as petioles; leaf blade ovate to ovate-oblong, those at apex of stem sometimes elliptic, 7-15 × 5-11 cm, papery to ± leathery, abaxially densely glandular with very finely powdery pubescent veins, adaxially glabrous, base cordate, sometimes rounded in leaf blades toward apex of stem, symmetric or nearly so, apex acuminate; veins 7, apical pair arising 0.7-2 cm above base, usually opposite, others basal; reticulate veins conspicuous. Spikes leaf-opposed. Male spikes nearly as long as leaf blades at anthesis; peduncle nearly as long as petioles; rachis pubescent; bracts orbicular or suborbicular, rarely obovate, 1-1.3 mm wide, peltate, ± sessile. Stamens 2; filaments thick, ca. as long as anthers or longer; anthers reniform. Female spikes 3-5 × ca. 1 cm, longer in fruit; rachis fleshy, densely pubescent. Ovary partly immersed in and connate to rachis, apex tomentose; stigmas usually 4 or 5, lanceolate, tomentose. Drupes fused to form terete, fleshy, reddish, compound fruit, apices tomentose, prominent. Fl. May-Jul.

via · Kew POWO

• Betel cytotoxicity.ReviewJournal of ethnopharmacology · 1989Sen S, Talukder G, Sharma ADOI: 10.1016/0378-8741(89)90096-2
• Investigating Betel Nut Use, Antecedents and Consequences: A Review of Literature.ReviewSubstance use & misuse · 2020Joo YJ, Newcombe D, Nosa V et al.DOI: 10.1080/10826084.2019.1666144
• Betel: consumption and consequences.ReviewJournal of the American Academy of Dermatology · 1998Norton SADOI: 10.1016/s0190-9622(98)70543-2
• From betel nuts to Cobenfy: how an ancient recreational drug gave rise to a new class of schizophrenia medications.ReviewCNS spectrums · 2025Creeden JF, Machiraju SN, Amin JB et al.DOI: 10.1017/S1092852925100424
• Betel Quid Use and Tuberculosis Transmission: A Neglected Focus Area for Tuberculosis Control in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.ReviewOpen forum infectious diseases · 2024Manghani P, Prasad N, Khatri N et al.DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofae577
• Betel chewer's mucosa--a review.ReviewJournal of oral pathology & medicine : official publication of the International Association of Oral Pathologists and the American Academy of Oral Pathology · 1998Reichart PA, Phillipsen HPDOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0714.1998.tb01949.x
• Betel Quid Health Risks of Insulin Resistance Diseases in Poor Young South Asian Native and Immigrant Populations.ReviewInternational journal of environmental research and public health · 2020de la Monte SM, Moriel N, Lin A et al.DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17186690
• Betel nut chewing and the risk of chronic kidney disease: evidence from a meta-analysis.ReviewInternational urology and nephrology · 2018Wang M, Yu SY, Lv ZT et al.DOI: 10.1007/s11255-018-1819-8

via PubMed