Why doesn’t Hunan produce betel nuts?

The reason why Hunan does not produce betel nuts is because of the geographical environment.

Betel nut was originally produced in Malaysia and is now mainly distributed in subtropical areas such as Yunnan, Hainan, Solomon Islands, and Micronesia. Betel nut contains many kinds of trace elements, which can appropriately supplement what the human body needs, and also has the functions of removing moisture and killing insects. There are records of betel nuts in "Historical Records" and "Sanfu Huangtu", so people started planting them very early. But Hunan does not produce betel nut, because there are requirements for betel nut cultivation.

Although betel nut does not have high soil requirements, this plant likes hot weather and abundant rainfall. It is easier to plant at the bottom of valleys, at the foot of ridges, and at the foot of slopes, and it mainly appears between 28° north and south latitude. The northern latitudes of Hunan can also be touched, and the east longitude is about 100 degrees. There are not many miasmas here. The weather changes very drastically every year. The temperature can drop by 10°C and rise by more than 15°C. Droughts often occur in summer and autumn. These are intolerable to the betel nut tree and therefore do not produce them. Hunan doesn’t need to produce betel nut to be so popular.

Hunan people have not eaten betel nut for a long time, and it is normal not to plant it. Until the Qing Dynasty, He Tengjiao, Minister of War of the Southern Ming Dynasty, was defeated steadily in the battles in Hunan. In the end, a large number of corpses could not be processed, and the plague eventually broke out. At this time, monks from Guangdong came with betel nut. People found that those who had eaten betel nut had a high chance of avoiding the plague. People in Hunan began to eat betel nut. Later, people became accustomed to eating betel nut, and sometimes gave it as a gift. ?Betel nuts are considered expensive by scholars, and they must be treated first when entertaining guests. If they are not provided by chance, they will resent each other. ?-From "The Gathering of Artists" by Ouyang Xun of the Tang Dynasty.

Hunan has formed a culture using betel nut, which makes people have a special emotion towards betel nut. If there are many people who like to eat betel nut, the market has already developed, and there is no need to cultivate it specially.