The Betel Leaf or Paan is a creeper with glossy heart-shaped leaves that are popularly consumed in India. It is fairly easy to grow even for new plant parents with little care. Let it climb or trail and it will be a great addition to both your collection and food habit as it is known to cool the body and provides many nutrients. Betel Leaf Plant is a creeper grown in India. It belongs to the pepper family. Its waxy green, heart-shaped leaves are used for medicinal and culinary purposes. When crushed, it exudes a cool peppery scent. It’s used in making a famous dessert called ‘Paan’ which is chewed with betel nut as a mouth freshener. This mildly stimulant herb is popular in whole South Asia (Indian subcontinent), Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam. also growing a betel leaf plant is not difficult but you need to be aware of its requirements. This rare, mildly stimulant herb can also be grown in containers, even indoors in the part sun.
Paan leaves are medium to large in size and oblong to heart-shaped, averaging 7-15 centimetres in length and 5-11 centimetres in width. The green leaves are flat, broad, and pliable and have a smooth, but slightly leathery texture. There is also a central vein the runs the length of the leaf with many smaller veins branching throughout. Each Paan leaf tapers to a point on the non-stem end and grows on climbing vines. Paan leaves are chewy and have a sharp, tangy, and peppery taste.
The Betel (Piper betel) is the leaf of a vine belonging to the Piperaceae family, which includes pepper and kava. It is valued both as a mild stimulant and for its medicinal properties. Betel leaf is mostly consumed in Asia, and elsewhere in the world by some Asian emigrants, as betel quid or paan, always with tobacco, in an addictive psycho-stimulating and euphoria-inducing formulation with adverse health effects.
The betel plant is an evergreen and perennial creeper, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkin. The betel plant originated from South and South-East Asia.
