Kajian Etnobotani Masyarakat Kasepuhan Sobang di Kabupaten Lebak, Banten

Abstract

Ethnobotany is one tool to discover many plants which are used by traditional community to support their livelihood. This research is aimed to investigate knowledge of local communities in managing biological resources, diversity, the way of using and proliferating that plants. The data were obtained through participant observation method and semi-structured interviews of 38 respondents by using an interview guide and questionnaire. Data of plant diversity was obtained through sampling and identification of plant species. There were 203 species (classified into 70 families) used by Kasepuhan Sobang communities. The most useful plant for traditional communities belongs to Fabaceae. The most utilization of plant diversity was as source of food (93 species, 39.74 %) and medical plant species (54 species, 23.07 %). Most of the plants were taken from the gardens and used immediately. Leaves were the largest part of plant that used to support communities livelihood, most of the plants are harvested monthly. The application of ethnobotany knowledge in Sobang Kasepuhan society in managing forest was demonstrated by dividing zone Kasepuhan Sobang into several utilization areas.