Areca Palm (Dypsis lutescens, syn. Chrysalidocarpus lutescens), Butterfly Palm

The areca palm is a classic example of a plant that was culturally influenced by preconceived values people often place on the world around them. The true areca palm (Areca catechu) produced the areca nut, a culturally significant fruit that was often consumed (chewed) though harmful, addictive, and even carcinogenic in the long term. Regardless of its effects, this plant (with the betel leaf) was eaten by Asian and Oceanic royalty, and when this plant was discovered in Madagascar many years later, it was named after the areca palm for the marketability and became associated with the same kind of regality, despite its fraudulent origins.