What is betel nut? Everyone seems a little embarrassed to ask, isn't it just for eating?

The betel nut tree (scientific name: Areca catechu), also known as Binmen, Binnan, Dabaibin, Renpin, Renlang, Ximidan, Xianmidan, and Snail Fruit, is a plant of the Palmae family (Palmae) etc. It belongs to the same family as the coconut and is an evergreen tree of the Palm family. The main trunk can grow up to 20 meters. The trunk is straight and the leaves grow concentratedly on the top of the tree. It is found in China, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. There is cultivation. The trunk is unbranched and reaches a height of 12 to 15 meters. Areca nut is the seed of the Areca nut tree. The betel leaf is the leaf of Piper betle (Piper betle) in the Piperaceae family. The betel nut fruit is slightly smaller than an egg. The rind is fibrous and contains a seed, the betel nut. Endosperm is hard with gray-brown spots. The fruits are harvested from August to November before they are fully mature, peeled, boiled, cut into thin slices and sun-dried. After drying, they turn dark brown or black. You can wrap it with ju leaves when chewing. Betel nut is the raw material of inferior catechu, and its main alkaloid is arecoline, which is used by veterinarians as an anthelmintic. There is also a movie of the same name "Betel Nut". Other betel nut chews are listed as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Chinese name: Areca catechu [bīng láng]

Latin scientific name: Areca catechu

Other names: Betel nut, Binmen, Binnan, Dabaipin, Dabaibin Abdomen, olives, snails

Binary name: Areca catechu L.

Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum: Angiosperms

< p>Class: Monocotyledon

Subclass: Palmae

Order: Palmales

Family: Palmae

Subfamily: Arecinae

Family: Areca tribe