cium: 0.05% ; Phosphorus: 0.139% ; and a trace of [ron: 
0.5 mg. per 100. Cured nuts are considered to be of the 
highest quality. The curing improves the colour and taste 
and removes the excess of tannin and mucilage in the 
nut. Raw nuts contain 21.6 to 30.2% of tannin, whereas 
cured nuts only have 8.6 to 15.1%. Cured nuts are more 
commonly used in southern India than in northern India. 
The betel palm and vine have been variously described 
in Indian literature; the areca palm has been called ‘‘an 
arrow from heaven’’; and poets have often symbolized 
the palm and vine for enduring strength and beauty. 
Hisrory, Borany AND CULTIVATION 
a. Betel Palm: Areca Catechu L. 
The genus name Areca is of South Indian origin. 
Among the Nairs, Areca means ‘‘cavalier.”? In Kannada’ 
the betel palm is called the Adike tree, the nut Adike. 
The specific epithet Catechu is probably from Kachu 
meaning in Kannada ‘‘astringent substance. ’”’ 
The original home of the betel nut palm is uncertain, as 
it is so widely cultivated in all the tropical parts of Asia 
and in all the islands of the Indian and North and South 
Pacific Oceans (see map). It has as many distinct names 
as there are languages in the East. It is not found wild 
anywhere in any of the countries of its cultivation. Its 
numerous varieties, the many distinct names, and the 
lack of wild individuals all indicate its antiquity, but do 
not solve its origin. Several different opinions have been 
expressed by botanists as to the original home of the 
betel palm: Martius is uncertain, but thinks it is proba- 
bly native to the Sunda Isles; Blume, Bretschneider and 
Ridley consider it to be Malayan; Miquel and Blanco 
‘Kannada is one of the major languages of South India. I am 
not sure which is the older term, i.e., whether Areca is derived from 
Adike or vice versa. 
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