Betel (Piper betle) is a species of flowering plant in the pepper family Piperaceae, native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious vine, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel plants are cultivated for their leaves which are most commonly used as flavoring in chewing areca nut. Etymology. The term betel was derived from the Tamil/Malayalam word vettila via Portuguese. Distribution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betel