Areca macrocalyx Zipp. ex Blume

This is a small palm up to 2-10 m high. It has a thick dark green crown. The trunk is straight. It is green in its younger parts. There are widely spaced white rings of leaf base scars along the trunk. The crown-shaft is long and narrow. It is 1.2 m long. The leaves are 2 m long. They stick upwards and do not arch over. The leaflets are pleated. They vary in width and spacing. They are dark green above and pale underneath. It has dead male spikes between the rows of nuts. It has dense club-like clusters of fruit. The fruit can be round or elongated. They are deep orange when mature.

A tropical plant. It grows in the highlands of Papua New Guinea mostly between 1000 m and 1900 m.. It grows in tropical and subtropical areas. It grows in mountain rainforests. In Cairns Botanical Gardens.

The nuts are used as a substitute for betel nut. The palm heart is edible.

Plants can be grown from seed.