Areca catechu; areca palm; betel nut

Japanese: ビンロウ(檳榔) - ビンロウ（英語表記）Areca catechu; areca palm; betel nut

A tall palm tree. It is also called areca nut, and its fruit is called areca nut. It is native to tropical Asia, such as Malaysia and New Guinea, and is widely cultivated. It reaches a height of 10 to 15 meters, and has large pinnate leaves at the top. The petiole suddenly thickens at the bottom, firmly clinging to the trunk, and the trunk is so thick that white marks remain on the trunk after the leaves have fallen. A broom-shaped inflorescence grows from the base of the leaf veins, with many male flowers at the top and a few female flowers at the bottom. The fruit is oval, 6 to 8 cm long, and turns orange when ripe. Because it contains alkaloids such as arecoline, which have an anesthetic effect, local people take the unripe fruit, knead it with lime and other plant leaves, and make a kind of recreational product, which is used like chewing tobacco. The fruit is also used as a reddish-brown dye, a stomachic and diuretic, and is said to be effective as an anthelmintic for parasites.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

ヤシ科の高木。ビンロウジュともいい，その果実をビンロウジという。マレーシア，ニューギニアなど熱帯アジアの原産で，広く栽培もされている。樹高は 10～15mに達し，その頂に大型の羽状葉をつける。葉柄の下部が急に太くなって幹をがっちりと抱き，幹には葉の落ちた跡が白く残るほどである。葉脈の基部からほうき状に分れる花序を出し，上方に多数の雄花，下方に少数の雌花をつける。果実は長さ6～8cmの卵形で，熟するとオレンジ色になる。アレコリンなどのアルカロイドがあって麻酔作用があるため，現地人はその未熟な実をとって，石灰や他の植物の葉とともにこねて一種の嗜好品をつくり，噛みたばこのようにして用いる。また，果実は赤褐色の染料として，さらに健胃・利尿剤として用いられ，寄生虫の駆虫剤としても有効といわれる。

出典　ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典について　情報

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