Where is the areca palm suitable for planting, and how does it differ from the palm tree?

We often see pre-packaged areca nuts at store counters, but in everyday life we rarely see the areca palm. It is mainly distributed in Central Africa and Southeast Asia. It has a history of 1500 years of introduction and cultivation in our country, with more cultivation in the two provinces of Hainan and Taiwan, and it is also cultivated in Guangxi, Yunnan, Fujian and other provinces (regions). So, where can the areca palm be planted? According to data, the areca palm likes high temperatures and a humid climate, is tolerant of fertilizer, and is not cold-tolerant. At 16°C it shows leaf drop, and at 5°C it suffers cold damage. The most suitable growth temperature is 25-28°C. Areas with annual rainfall of 1500-2200mm are suitable for growth. During the seedling stage, shade density of 50%-60% is appropriate, while adult trees should have full sunlight. Cultivation is best in sandy loam with deep soil layers and rich organic matter.

Differences between the areca palm and the palm tree

(1) Areca palm

① Stem erect, tree-like, more than 10 m tall, up to 30 m at the highest, with obvious ring-shaped leaf scars.

Leaves clustered at the top of the stem, 1.3-2 m long, with many pinnae, hairless on both sides, narrowly lanceolate, 30-60 cm long and 2.5-4 cm wide; the upper pinnae are connate, with irregular toothed splits at the apex. Monoecious; inflorescences much branched, the inflorescence axis stout and flattened, the branches zigzag, 25-30 cm long, the upper part slender, bearing male flowers in 1 or 2 rows, while female flowers are solitary at the base of the branches; male flowers small, sessile, usually solitary, rarely paired, sepals ovate, less than 1 mm long, petals oblong, 4-6 mm long, stamens 6, filaments short, rudimentary pistil 3, linear; female flowers larger, sepals ovate, petals nearly round, 1.2-1.5 cm long, staminodes 6, connate; ovary oblong. Fruit oblong or ovoid, 3-5 cm long, orange-yellow, mesocarp thick, fibrous. Seeds ovate, base truncate, endosperm ruminate, embryo basal. Flowering and fruiting period March-April.

② The areca palm is mainly distributed in Central Africa and Southeast Asia, such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Malay Peninsula, New Guinea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and other countries. It has a history of 1500 years of introduction and cultivation in our country, with more cultivation in the two provinces of Hainan and Taiwan, and it is also cultivated in Guangxi, Yunnan, Fujian and other provinces (regions).

③ It likes a high-temperature and humid climate, is tolerant of fertilizer, and is not cold-tolerant. At 16°C it shows leaf drop, and at 5°C it suffers cold damage. The most suitable growth temperature is 25-28°C. Areas with annual rainfall of 1500-2200mm are suitable for growth. During the seedling stage, shade density of 50%-60% is appropriate, while adult trees should have full sunlight. Cultivation is best in sandy loam with deep soil layers and rich organic matter. The seeds have the characteristic of after-ripening within the fruit.

(2) Palm tree

① The palm tree is an evergreen tree. The trunk is cylindrical, up to 10 m tall, with a stem diameter of up to 24 cm. Old leaf stalks and the leaf sheaths at their lower part often remain; the leaves rise vertically from the top of the trunk, fan-shaped, nearly circular, 50-70 cm across, with palmate splits reaching deep into the middle-lower part; the leaf stalk is 40-100 cm long, with obvious fine teeth on both sides. Dioecious; paniculate spadix axillary, flowers small and yellow. Drupe kidney-shaped and spherical, about 1 cm across, blue-brown, covered with white powder. Flowering period April-May, fruit ripens October-November.

② The palm tree is native to our country. Except for Tibet, it is distributed throughout the region south of the Qinling Mountains in our country, from southern Shaanxi in the north, to Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan in the south, to the border of Tibet in the west, and to Shanghai and Zhejiang in the east. From the mouth of the Yangtze River, it is widely distributed along a 500-kilometer belt on the west bank of the upper Yangtze River.

③ The palm is the most widely distributed and highest-latitude species of the palm family in the country. It likes a warm and humid climate and sunlight. It is extremely cold-tolerant and slightly shade-tolerant. It is suitable for growing in well-drained, moist and fertile neutral, calcareous or slightly acidic soil. It is tolerant of mild salinity-alkalinity and also tolerates a certain degree of drought and waterlogging. It has strong resistance to air pollution. It is prone to windthrow and grows slowly.