A reply from Sibdas ji: "Thank you for the information. I can not remember the european botanist who exclaimed- what a graceful plant, as if an arrow shot towards heaven. However, I add some more words, the roots of the plants secrete an alkaloid - catechin, which does not allow many plants to grow beneath these plants. This phenomenon is known as allelopathy. Most of the palms have this character."
On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 8:03 AM, J.M. Garg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Some extracts from Wikipedia link: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areca_catechu > > *Areca catechu* is the *areca palm* or *areca nut palm*, > (Malay<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malay>: > *Pinang*), a species of palm <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arecaceae>which > grows in much of the tropical > Pacific <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific>, > Asia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia>, > and parts of east Africa <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa>. > > This palm is often erroneously called the *betel tree* because its fruit, > the areca nut <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areca_nut>, is always chewed > along with the betel leaf <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betel_leaf>, a > leaf from a vine of the > Piperaceae<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piperaceae>family. > > It is a medium-sized and graceful palm > tree<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree>growing straight to 20 m tall, with a > trunk 20-30 cm in diameter. The > leaves <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf> are 1.5-2 m long, pinnate, with > numerous, crowded leaflets. It is also known as *Puga* in > Sanskrit<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit>, > *Supari* in Marathi <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathi>. > > *Areca catechu* is grown for its economically important seed crop, the > areca nut. The seed contains > alkaloids<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkaloid>such as > arecaine<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arecaine&action=edit&redlink=1>and > arecoline <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arecoline>, which when chewed is > intoxicating and is also slightly addictive. Areca palms are grown in > India <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India>, > Malaysia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia>, > Taiwan <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan> and many other Asian > countries for their seeds. > Penang <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penang> Island, off the west coast of > Peninsular Malaysia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peninsular_Malaysia>, Fua > Mulaku <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fua_Mulaku> in the > Maldives<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maldives>and > Guwahati <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guwahati> in > Assam<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assam>, > India, are some of the places named after a local name for areca nut. > > The Areca palm is also used as an interior landscaping species. It is often > used in large indoor areas such as malls and hotels. It won't fruit or reach > full size. Indoors it is a slow growing, low water, high light plant that is > sensitive to spider mite and occasionally mealy bug. The areca nut is also > popular for chewing throughout some Asian countries such as Taiwan, Vietnam, > Philippine, Malaysia, and India. Chewing areca nut is quite popular among > working classes in Taiwan. The nut itself can be addictive and has direct > link to mouth cancers. Areca nut in Taiwan will usually contain artificial > additives such as limestone powder. > > The extract of *Areca catechu* has been shown to have antidepressant > properties,[2] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areca_catechu#cite_note-1>but it > may be addictive. > [3] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areca_catechu#cite_note-2> > On Tue, Dec 2, 2008 at 10:36 PM, sibdas ghosh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote: > >> Areca catechu, An arrow shot at the heaven ( Roxburgh?) >> >> >> >> > > > -- > With regards, > J.M.Garg > "We often ignore the beauty around us" > Creating Awareness about Indian Flora & Fauna: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jmgarg1 > For learning about our trees & plants, please visit/ join Google e-group > (Indiantreepix) http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix?hl=en > > -- With regards, J.M.Garg "We often ignore the beauty around us" Creating Awareness about Indian Flora & Fauna: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jmgarg1 For learning about our trees & plants, please visit/ join Google e-group (Indiantreepix) http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix?hl=en --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "indiantreepix" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
