The great plume already described, prior to its appearing in bloom, is packed in a large case or bud, about four feet long.

In this case the blossom comes to maturity, at which time the tightened cuticle of the bard can no longer sustain the pressure of the expanding flower.

It suddenly bursts with a loud report, and the beautiful plume, freed from its imprisonment, ascends at this signal and rapidly unfolds its feathers, towering above the drooping leaves which are hastening to decay.
The areca is a palm of great elegance; it rises to a height of about eighty feet, and a rich feathery crest adorns the summit.

This is the most delicate stem of all the palm tribe; that of a tree of eighty feet in length would not exceed five inches in diameter.

Nevertheless, I have never seen an areca palm overturned by a storm; they bow gracefully to the wind, and the extreme elasticity of the wood secures them from destruction.
This tree produces the commonly-called "betel-nut," but more properly the areca-nut.