Supari / Beetle Nut Palm
Areca catechu
Also known as Areca Nut Palm, Areca Palm, Pinang
- Habit
- Palm (Columnar)
- Found in India
- Kerala, Karnataka, West Bengal & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Areca catechu
- Genus
- Areca
- Family
- Arecaceae
- Habit
- Palm (Columnar)
- Native to
- Tropical Asia
- Distribution
- Tropics
- Found in India
- Kerala, Karnataka, West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Typical of the Arecaceae family — a field-mark hint, not measured for this exact species.
Flower & fruit characters
Typical of the Arecaceae family — flowering plants only; individual species can differ.
Local Names
- Hindi
- चामरपुष्प chamarpushpa, गुवाक guvak,गूआ gua, supari
- Bengali
- সুপারি supari, সুপারি, সুপুরি
- Tamil
- அடைக்காய் atai-k-kay, சகுந்தம் chakuntam, சாமரபுட்பம் chamara-putpam
- Telugu
- ఘోంట ghonta, ఖపురము khapuramu, క్రముకము kramukamu
- Kannada
- ಅಡಕೆ adake, ಅಡಿಕೆ adike, ಅಡಿಕೆ
- Malayalam
- കമുക് kamuk, കവുങ്ങ് kavung, കവുങ്ങ്
- Marathi
- पोफळ pophal OR पोफळी pophali, पूग pug, पूगफल pugaphal
Supari in India
This slender palm, known as चामरपुष्प chamarpushpa (Hindi), அடைக்காய் atai-k-kay (Tamil), ఘోంట ghonta (Telugu), ಅಡಕೆ adake (Kannada), കമുക് kamuk (Malayalam), पोफळ pophal OR पोफळी pophali (Marathi), produces one of the most widely chewed seeds in the world. Areca catechu is cultivated across Kerala, Karnataka, West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, especially in the humid coastal south and northeast.
Uses
Its seed (supari/areca nut) is sliced and chewed, often wrapped in a betel leaf (paan) with lime and other ingredients — a widespread but habit-forming practice linked to increased health risks, including oral cancers, with regular use.
How to Identify Supari
A tall, slender, unbranched palm with a smooth, ringed trunk marked by old leaf-scars. Feather-like fronds cluster at the crown. Small flowers are followed by egg-shaped orange-red fruit, each containing the hard, marbled seed known as the areca or betel nut.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Beetle nut Palm called in different Indian languages?
- चामरपुष्प chamarpushpa (Hindi); அடைக்காய் atai-k-kay (Tamil); ఘోంట ghonta (Telugu); ಅಡಕೆ adake (Kannada); കമുക് kamuk (Malayalam); पोफळ pophal OR पोफळी pophali (Marathi); সুপারি supari (Bengali).
- Is chewing supari safe?
- No — regular chewing of areca/betel nut, with or without tobacco, is linked to a significantly increased risk of oral cancers and other health problems, and is not a safe habitual practice.
- Is areca nut the same as betel leaf?
- No — the areca or betel nut is the seed of this palm (Areca catechu), while betel leaf comes from an entirely different plant, the betel vine (Piper betle); they're typically chewed together as paan.
Arecaceae
Palm family
Supari belongs to the Arecaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
All plant problem & care guides →More in Arecaceae
View all Arecaceae →Sources: GBIF — Areca catechu (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Areca catechu (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)