Ethnobotanical study on coconut plant in Karangwangi Village, Cianjur, West Java

Abstract

Erawan TS, Novia AS, Iskandar J. 2018. Ethnobotanical study on coconut plant in Karangwangi Village, Cianjur, West Java.Pros Sem Nas Masy Biodiv Indon 4: 163-168. Ethnobotany is a branch of science that deepens the relationship between human culturewith the natural vegetation in the vicinity. This research was conducted to determine the coconut varieties and their utilization and thesource of knowledge acquisition of the people of Karangwangi Village, Cidaun Sub-district, Cianjur District, West Java about coconutvarieties and their utilization. In this case it is preferred to the perceptions and conceptions of cultural groups of the community, which isstudied is the knowledge system of its members in the face of the sphere of life. Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) is a strategic commoditythat has a social, economic and cultural role in the life of Indonesian society. Karangwangi village is located in coastal area, coconutplant grows dawn all over its territory. This research uses qualitative method and the analysis is descriptive. The gathering of informantswas done by snowball technique. Data collection was done by semi-structured interview. The research was conducted in DesaKarangwangi RW 01-08. There are four varieties of coconut namely green coconut (Cocos nucifera L “green”), coconut quail (Cocosnucifera var nana), red coconut (Cocos nucifera L red), and ivory coconut (Cocos nucifera L ivory). All parts of the plant areutilized: Roots as ingredients of eye medicine and abdominal pain; Stem as building material; Leaves as material for makingbroomstick, janur, ketupat wrap, traditional ceremony, and fuel; Nira flowers as a sugar ingredient; Coir fruit as a material for makingsouvenirs and mats; Fruit shells as a material for making containers, scoops, and sugar prints; Meat fruit as foodstuff, medicine (stomachand cough), coconut milk, VCO, coconut oil, copra, and traditional ceremony; Fruit water as a beverage, stomach pain medication, andtraditional ceremony. For medicine is usually used coconut quail and coconut green, while for traditional ceremonies of coconut greenand ivory coconut. Knowledge about coconut varieties and their utilization is obtained by the community from parents, local people andgovernment extension