The Ethnobotany and Potential of Useful Plant at Keay Village, West Kutai Regency, East Kalimantan

Abstract

Keay Village is one of villages in West Kutai Regency, East Kalimantan. There are four ethnic groups occupying this village, i.e. Dayak, Javanese, Toraja, and Bugis. Dayak is the dominant ethnic group occupying the village, which still has traditional wisdom/knowledge in plants use. Ethnobotany is expected to document and hand on the knowledge of Dayak Benuaq ethnic group in using plants, and keep the knowledge from being loss. Data were collected through literature study, interview, field survey and inventory, vegetation analyses, and herbarium collection. Data on plants species found were classified in to classification of use, classification of illnesses, habitués percentage and parts of plants used, important value index, Shannon-Wienner species diversity index, and percentage of useful plants potential. There were 396 plant species found through ethnobotany and vegetation analyses, which was categorized into three categories i.e. plant species found through ethnobotany (285 species), plant species found through vegetation analyses in natural forest (158 species), plant species found through vegetation analyses in hevea plantation (34 species). There were 285 species belong to 78 families which uses had been known and grouped into 16 use groups. There were 53,79% of plants species in natural forest had the potential as useful plants, while in hevea plantation there were 50% of that species had the potential as useful plants. Dominant plant species in natural forest was keranyiq (Fordia johorensis) with IVI (Important Value Index) of pole level as much as 19,69%, sapling (25,46%), and seedling (24,67%). In hevea plantation, dominant plant species was hevea (Hevea brasiliensis) with IVI the highest IVI of tree level as much as 300%, pole (284,63%), sapling (143,59%), and seedling (52,42%). Plants use most widely used for medicinal as much as 95 species of 43 families. The community uses more plants from the forest than from the plantation, because there were more useful plants species in the forest. Potential useful plants at the forest of Keay village included mara uleq (Eurycoma longifolia), uwe (Korthalsia sp., Calamus sp., Daemonorops sp.), empulung (Asplenium nidus), and kerakap (Platycerium bifurcatum). Other potential other than plants potential in the natural forest was hevea (Hevea brasiliensis).