Areca catechu

Areca catechu is a species of palm which grows in much of the tropical Pacific, Asia, and parts of east Africa. The palm is native to the Philippines, but is widespread in cultivation and is considered naturalized in Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Taiwan, Madagascar, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, southern China, India, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, parts of the Pacific Islands, and also in the West Indies.Common names in English include areca palm, areca nut palm, betel palm, betel nut palm, Indian nut, Pinang palm and catechu. In English this palm is called the betel tree because its fruit, the areca nut, is often chewed along with the betel leaf, a leaf from a vine of the family Piperaceae.