MONPERA is a monument which is placed in the centre of Palembang city. This monument is established on August, 17th 1975 as the symbol of defence the coloniser in revolution which is named “Pertempuran Lima Hari Lima Malam” (Battle in 5 days). The battle happened on January, 1st 1947 that involved Palembang society to fight the Dutch. This monument is declared on February, 23rd 1988 by Menko Kesra Alamsyah. In this monument, we could see such kind of weapons which is used on that battle, including some documents and other historical things.

Along MONPERA in Palembang city, there are some old trees which have grown there. They are palm trees. Palm trees are a kind of palm which is grown in Pacific, Asia, and East Africa. Palms have the different name in Indonesia and even in other country. In Aceh, palms are called Pineung. In North of Sumatra, they are called Pining. In other country, they are called Betel Palm or Betel Nut Tree. Palm trees have the scientific name which called Areca catechu. The tree is about 25 meters and the diameter is 15 centimeters. Leaves are about 80 centimeters. It has a serrated leaves.

Areca catechu is grown for its commercially important seed crop, the areca nut. Penang Island, off the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, Fua Mulaku in the Maldives and Guwahati in Assam, coastal areas of Kerala and Karnataka in India, are some of the places named after a local name for areca nut. The seed contains alkaloids such as arecaidine and arecoline, which, when chewed, are intoxicating and slightly addictive. Areca palms are grown in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Taiwan and many other Asian countries for their seeds. The seed also contains condensed tannins (procyanidins) called arecatannins. 

The palm is also used as an interior landscaping species. It is often used in large indoor areas such as malls and hotels. It will not fruit or reach full size. Indoors, it is a slow growing, low water, high light plant that is sensitive to spider mites and occasionally mealybugs. The areca nut is also popular for chewing throughout some Asian countries, such as Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippine, Malaysia, and India and the Pacific, notably Papua New Guinea, where it is very popular. Chewing areca nut is quite popular among working classes in Taiwan. The nut itself can be addictive and has direct link to mouth cancers.
Areca Palm in India :

An Areca catechu plantation in Taiwan :

Areca palm in Malaysia :

Source : Wikipedia.com