Veitchia merrillii

Christmas palm

This palm is tolerant of a wide range of conditions and is best known for its festive red fruits, which provide great natural Christmas decor here in the tropics. There are few uses recorded for the palm, except that the seeds are sometimes used as a substitute for betel nut, which has proven to be carcinogenic. Betel nut is the seed from Areca catechu, and is prepared with varieties of additional ingredients as a stimulant chew wrapped in betel leaves. This use is popular in India and Southeast Asia and has been engaged in traditionally for at least 4000 years, so it will likely be a practice slow to fade in spite of scientific study about carcinogens.

Here is a video clip of a man selling betel nuts and some of his customers, one of which has the characteristic reddish-orange colored mouth of betel nut chewers: