Plastic has been King for decades. But now it has a challenger- areca! So what is areca? The areca palm is an Asian tree from the tropical forests of South-east Asia. The word areca probably came from the Malayalam word for it, “ataykka”. Ask your Keralite friends if they use the word! It has other names too, like betel palm and areca nut palm. It is known for its thin and tall trunk, topped by the leaves we associate with palm and coconut trees, called fronds. The trunk is marked by the scars of leaves that fell when the tree was shorter. Apparently no one(or nothing) is immune to ageing! The areca palm is a very useful tree, with fruits and leaves that have a variety of uses(which we will discuss later)! This tree is capable of reaching the height of a 9-storey building, though domesticated indoor versions are much shorter. Watch this space to know more about areca palms!
