Betel Leaf

a mixture of spicy and acrid leaves from the Piper betle shrub of the pepper family (raised everywhere in tropical Asia) with bits of seeds of the areca palm and a little lime (to neutralize the acids present in the leaves). The betel leaf, which stimulates the nervous system, is chewed by people living in tropical Asia. It blackens the teeth and stains blood red the oral cavity, the tongue, the gums, and the copious saliva produced by chewing.