There are numerous varieties and many nuts of quality 
are known by local names and fames all over India. 
The betel palms are cultivated in pure-stand planta- 
tions or in mixed gardens along with coconut palms, 
bananas, oranges, limes, mangos, guavas, and numerous 
other side plants of economic importance. It is a mari- 
time palm, and requires a tropical climate for luxurious 
growth. Its requirements are more or less the same 
as in the case of the coconut, but it is very sensitive to 
drought. In the tropics it grows well where there is a 
heavy rainfall or under irrigation; it requires shade in its 
early stages. It grows in a variety of soils from the lat- 
erite soils of the west coast of India and Ceylon, through 
Deccan along the east coast, to the alluvial soils of Ben- 
gal and Assam, extending to Burma, Siam, Indo-China, 
China and the islands of the North and South Pacific 
Oceans. 
Seedlings are raised in shady nurseries and transplanted 
at an age of two or three years; seeds are also sown di- 
rectly by dibbling the seeds in holes about 6-8 feet 
apart. In Bengal, the first row of seeds is dibbled under 
the shade of Hrythrina indica (the latter put in rows as 
cuttings at 12-15 feet apart) and when the palms begin 
to bear, the Erythrina plants are cut off and in their 
place, and under the shade of the older palms, new rows 
of seeds are dibbled. Bearing begins when the palms are 
about 7-10 years old, but the plantation comes to full 
bearing when it is about 15-20 years old and continues 
to yield for from 80 to 60 years. The palms live over 100 
years under good soil and cultivation. 
b. Betel Vine: Piper Betle L. 
The generic name Piper is probably a derivative from 
the Sanskrit word Pippali for pepper. The name betel 
(betle), meaning ‘‘simple leaf,’’ seems to come from betre 
[ 188 ] 
