The areca nut is the seed of "Areca catechu", Betel Palm, Areca palm, Areca-nut palm, 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 either Indonesia/Malaysia or the Philippines. "Areca" is derived from a local name from the Malabar Coast of India and "catechu" is from another Malay name for this palm, caccu. This palm is often 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 Piperaceae family.