betel
Sign in to saveBetel (Piper betle) is a species of flowering plant in the pepper family Piperaceae, native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious vine, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel plants are cultivated for their leaves, which are most commonly used as flavoring for chewing areca nut in so-called betel quid (often confusingly referred to as "betel nut"), which is toxic (as it is a psychostimulant drug) and is associated with a wide range of serious health conditions.
AI overview
Betel is a Southeast Asian vine whose leaves are chewed together with areca nut in a preparation called betel quid, a practice with deep cultural roots in the region. This chewing habit is considered toxic because areca nut is a psychostimulant drug linked to serious health problems.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Species
FamilyArecaceae
Native toPhilippines
Climbers dioecious. Stems rooted at nodes, 2.5-5 mm thick, slightly woody. Petiole 2-5 cm, very finely powdery pubescent; prophylls ca. 1/3 as long as petioles; leaf blade ovate to ovate-oblong, those at apex of stem sometimes elliptic, 7-15 × 5-11 cm, papery to ± leathery, abaxially densely glandular with very finely powdery pubescent veins, adaxially glabrous, base cordate, sometimes rounded in leaf blades toward apex of stem, symmetric or nearly so, apex acuminate; veins 7, apical pair arising 0.7-2 cm above base, usually opposite, others basal; reticulate veins conspicuous. Spikes leaf-opposed. Male spikes nearly as long as leaf blades at anthesis; peduncle nearly as long as petioles; rachis pubescent; bracts orbicular or suborbicular, rarely obovate, 1-1.3 mm wide, peltate, ± sessile. Stamens 2; filaments thick, ca. as long as anthers or longer; anthers reniform. Female spikes 3-5 × ca. 1 cm, longer in fruit; rachis fleshy, densely pubescent. Ovary partly immersed in and connate to rachis, apex tomentose; stigmas usually 4 or 5, lanceolate, tomentose. Drupes fused to form terete, fleshy, reddish, compound fruit, apices tomentose, prominent. Fl. May-Jul.
via · Kew POWO
Research
3,078 papers- Betel cytotoxicity.Journal of ethnopharmacology · 1989
- Investigating Betel Nut Use, Antecedents and Consequences: A Review of Literature.Substance use & misuse · 2020
Article
13 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Distribution
- Cultivation
- Cultural significance
- Health effects
- Chemical composition
- Genome
- Economics
- Gallery
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Betel (Piper betle) is a species of flowering plant in the pepper family Piperaceae, native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious vine, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel plants are cultivated for their leaves, which are most commonly used as flavoring for chewing areca nut in so-called betel quid (often confusingly referred to as "betel nut"), which is toxic (as it is a psychostimulant drug) and is associated with a wide range of serious health conditions.
==Etymology== The term betel was derived from the Malayalam/Tamil word vettila via Portuguese.