From the archive record
A bunch of Areca nut ready for harvest in South India. The pre-bearing age of the palm ranges from 5 to 8 years. Though inflorescence initiation has been observed in every leaf axil, there is absorption of inflorescences to about 5 per cent. The plant is monoecious, producing both male and female flowers on the same tree. The spadix of a grown-up palm produces on an average, 294 female flowers. The colour of the fruit during its growth changes from green to different shades of yellow and red during ripening. In some places, tender nuts are mature nuts are harvested. Tender nuts are harvested from July to December and ripe nuts from December to March or from May to July. Three or four plucking are done during the whole season. The areca nut palm is the source of common chewing nut, popularl