144 PHILIPPINE PALMS 
b*. Male flowers 2.5 to 3 mm long; stamens 6; rudimentary ovary as 
long as the stamens, divided into three points. Female flowers 
ovate, obtuse, 8 mm long, 4.5 to 5 mm broad. Fruit small, oblong- 
ellipsoid or subfusiform, 17 to 19 mm long and broad; pericarp 
rather thin, the mesocarp formed by only two layers of slender, 
but rigid, flattened, parallel fibers... 222000... 9. A. Vidaliana. 
b*. Male flowers smaller than in A. Vidaliana (2 mm or a little longer) ; 
stamens 6; rudimentary ovary as long as the stamens, trifid. Fe- 
male flowers ovoid, conical, narrowing to an acute point, larger 
than in A. Vidaliana, 13 to 14 mm long, 7 mm broad at the base. 
Fruit also larger, ellipsoid-elongate or subfusiform, about 3 cm long, 
OS aiind read ene ae or ees oe 10. A. Hutchinsoniana. 
ARECA CATECHU L. (Plates IV, V). BUNGA or BETEL PALM. 
Local names: Boa (Iloko); bunga (Tagalog, Bisaya, Bikol); bia (Ca- 
gayan) ; dapiau (Bataan); ligos (Zamboanga) ; lwyos (Pampanga); pasd 
(Basilan) ; takobt6b (Bikol). 
This tall and slender tree is one of the characteristic palms 
found in and about towns throughout the settled areas of the 
Philippines. Areca catechu reaches a height of 10 meters and 
a diameter of 10 to 15 centimeters. It has dark-green, pinnate 
leaves about 3 meters long. The reddish-yellow fruits are 
found on the stem below the leaves. It is frequently sponta- 
neous and occurs in second-growth forests, but is rarely found 
distant from cultivation. In the Philippines it has been re- 
ported from the virgin forest in only a single locality in Palawan, 
and there where an old trail crossed a small stream. 
Beccari* says that Areca catechu, variety silvatica, may pos- 
sibly represent the original plant from which the commonly cul- 
tivated palm has been derived. According to Beccari there are 
in the Philippines various forms of Aveca so closely related to 
Areca catechu as to afford good reason to believe that in these 
Islands Areca catechu finally assumed the specific character 
which it now exhibits. In no other part of southern and eastern 
Asia or Malaysia is there any species of Areca which in any way 
approaches Areca catechu. | 
In the Philippines, as in all the Indo-Malayan and Polynesian 
region, the fruits of this palm are extensively utilized for chew- 
ing with lime and the leaves of the betel pepper (Piper betle 
Linn.), locally known as ikmo. The mixture is known in dif- 
ferent parts of the Philippines as biyo, maman, ormamon. The 
areca fruit is cut into rather thin slices, sprinkled with lime, 
and the slices wrapped in fresh ikmo leaves. Tobacco is some- 
times added to the mixture. The chewing of btyo, which is 
exceedingly prevalent in the Philippines, colors the expectorated 

* Beccari, O., Palms of the Philippine Islands. Philippine Journal of 
Science, Volume 14 (1919), pages 295-362. 
