The Collaborative International Dictionary
Areca \A*re"ca\, n. [Canarese adiki: cf. Pg. & Sp. areca.] (Bot.) A genus of palms, one species of which ( Areca catechu) produces the areca nut, or betel nut, which is chewed in India and Southeast Asia with the leaf of the Piper Betle and lime.
Wikipedia
Areca catechu is a species of palm which grows in much of the tropical Pacific, Asia, and parts of east Africa. The palm is believed to have originated in the Philippines, but is widespread in cultivation and is considered naturalized in southern China ( Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan), Taiwan, India, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, many of the islands in the Pacific Ocean, and also in the West Indies.
The species has many common names including the areca palm, areca nut palm, betel palm, Indian nut, Pinang palm, Telugu: '' పోక '', Tagalog: bunga, Indonesia/ Malay: pinang, Malayalam: അടക്ക adakka, Kannada: ಅಡಿಕೆ Adike, (in Tamil "kamuhu", in Sinhala "Puwak" ). This palm is called the betel tree because its fruit, the areca nut, is often chewed along with the betel leaf, a leaf from a vine of the family Piperaceae.
Areca is derived from a local name from the Malabar Coast of India and catechu is from another Malay name for this palm, caccu.
Usage examples of "areca catechu".
Continuing to read out the analyses, Rosetti said tests on gum tissue from the mouths of the second French victim and the girls in London and Vienna gave areca catechu extract as the cause of the heightened mouth redness he'd found in each.