Betel Nut Varieties
In guam and other pacific islands its use can be traced back as far as 2000 years.
Betel nut varieties. Varieties of supari betel nuts areca nut is an important crop in india and finds a place in all religious social and cultural functions and events in india. Cultivation of betel nuts areca nuts is mostly confined to states of karnataka kerala and assam but the consumption is spread all over country. Arecanut betel nut is an extensively cultivated tropical palm. It belongs to the family palmae and originated in india and south eastern countries.
It is a tall stemmed erect palm reaching a height of 30 m and grows in laterite red loam and alluvial soils. Here i discuss three different varieties of this species which is a very popular ornamental from southeast asia. This palm also has significance in that the. The species has many common names including the areca palm areca nut palm betel palm indian nut pinang palm.
It is also known as puga in sanskrit puwak in sinhala and supari in marathi and gujarati. Normally it is known as the pinang tree in malaysia. 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. Betel nut varieties are shown in this file photo.
The yellow hardened variety shown is called mahetok or just pugua the green uripe variety shown is known as yapese betel nut or gadda. Growing areca nut information. Areca nut is grown on a large scale in india since areca nut crop has excellent commercial value in india. Areca nut palms can grow different heights depending on environmental conditions and variety.
They can even reach up to 30 meters. Betel nut has a long history in south and southeast asia and the pacific basin.