4 CLVI. PALMACE^ (Areca 
(3) A. triandra Roxd. Hort. Beng, 68; FI. Ind. iii. 617. 
btems numerous, in a tuft, 12 ft. tall, i to 1-5 in. through, with 
basal shoots. Leaves 4 to 6 ft. long; leaflets 1-5 to 3 ft. long, i to 
1*5 in. wide, Spathe i ft. long. Spadix as in ^1. piimila but 
flowers smaller. Stamens 3. Fruit i in. long, olive-shaped, bright 
red. Seed conic. Hab. North of peninsula in woods. Setul, Bukit 
Rajah Wang. Pulau Adang islands, Rawei isle (Ridley). Disirib. 
Tenasserim, Andamans, 
{4) A. montana Ridl. Mat. ii. 136. 
Stem 15 ft. tall, *5 in. through, ringed. Leaves 18 in. long, 
24 in. wide, sheath 6 in. long; petioles 3 to 4 in. long; leaflets 
over 20, linear acuminate, -5 to i in. wide. Spadix 4*5 in. long; 
branches few, 3 in. long. Female flowers -25 in. long, ovate curved. 
Petals ovate blunt. Hab. Rare, mountain forests, Selangor, Semang- 
kok Pass at 3000 ft. altitude (Burn-Murdoch). 
(5) A. catechu Linn. Sp. PL 1189; Mart. Hist. Nat. Palm. 
iii. 169, i. 102; Bl. Rumphia, iii. 65, t. 102A and 104; Griffith, Palms 
of Brit. Ind. 147; Hook. fil. F.B.I. vi. 405. 
Stem solitary, 20 to 80 ft. tall, 8 to 12 in. through, grey, ringed. 
Leaves 4 to 6 ft. long; leaflets numerous, i to 2 ft. long, i to 
1-25 in. wide, uppermost confluent. Spathes oblong spathulate. 
Spadix 2 ft. long, branches numerous, secondary branches 18 in. 
long. Male flowers on the slender tips of the branches -i in. long, 
white. Petals ovate acute. Stamens 6. Female flowers at base 
of spadix branches *25 in. long; sepals ovate blunt; petals similar, 
staminodes 6, connate. Fruit 2 in. long or more, orange or red; 
endocarp thick, fibrous; seed ovoid, base flattened, strongly rumi¬ 
nate. Hah. In villages and cultivated ground all over the Malay 
Peninsula, up to 1000 ft. altitude, frequently cultivated. Distrib. 
Malay Archipelago, South India. Native names : Pinang; Betel- 
nut. Use: For chewdng. 
The original home of the Betel-nut appears to be quite uncertain; I have 
never seen it wild nor does it appear to establish itself outside cultivated 
ground. It was cultivated in Malacca before 1593, as it is mentioned there 
by Garcia da Orta, Hist. Arom. 99, published 1593, and it is mentioned in 
a Chinese work dated 140 to 86 B.c. under the name Pinlang, evidently a 
perversion of Pinang, which as a name for the tree is confined almost entirely 
to the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. 
(6) A. furcata Becc. Males, i. 23; Ridl. Mai. ii. 136. 
Stems slender, -25 in. through. Leaves cuiieate bilobed or 
irregularly pinnate; leaflets broad, 7 in. long; petioles i to 3 in. 
long. Spadix 2 in. long, vdth 5 branches. Male flowers *12 in. 
long. Stamens ii or 12. Females, sepals falcate ovate. Drupe 
fusiform, 75 in. long. Hab. Johor, Guiiong Janeng (Kelsall). 
Distrib. Borneo. Native name : Pinang Kaki Pelandok. 
