Katilayu (Lepisanthes rubiginosa (Roxb.) Leenh.) Population In Mt. Baung Nature Tourism Park

Abstract

Katilayu (Lepisanthes rubiginosa) is one of the native plants of Indonesia that has not been much studied for the information on its existence and its potential utilization. This species has the risk of decreasing its population in nature due to several things, including the assumption of some people that this plant produces “fossil latex” which has magical abilities that increase the potential for exploitation; the other potential benefits and uses are not well known, so their cultivation is neglected; and the decreasing extent of forests in Indonesia. Research at Mt. Baung Nature Tourism Park (NTP), Pasuruan, East Java was carried out to determine the population of katilayu in the conservation area, to be precise by analyzing the vegetation and data collection on the number of individuals in the conservation area of Mt. Baung NTP. Observation of the physical environment where it grew was also done to find out the picture of the condition of the environment in which it grows. From this study it was known that the condition of the population in Mt. Baung was still quite good with the composition of individual densities at each growth stratum still showing a normal graph, that was inverted J-shaped form. Its presence was relatively scattered throughout the study site.