Medicinal and other useful wild plants

A survey of useful plants was conducted in the upper part of Kabupaten Tabalong, during the period 11 – 23 July 2001. The intention was to identify wild plants used by the local community, other than timber trees and rattans. A total of 169 numbers of voucher herbarium specimens were collected (not all are “useful” plants; examples of any available flowering and fruting wild plants were collected). Of the total collection, at least 68 species identified scientifically were stated by local informants to be used by the local community. Of these, 52 (76%) are used medicinally, 4 are used in traditional ceremonies (other than medicines to cure specific wounds or diseases), 4 are used as spices in cooking, 4 are used primarily as edible fruit trees, 2 are used to enhance sense of smell in hunting dogs, 2 are used to stimulate growth of rice seeds, 1 is used as rope and 1 is used as poison to catch fish for consumption. The 52 medicinal plant species are used to treat stomach ache / diarrhea (8 species), malaria / fever (6), wounds (5), jaundice (3), acne (3), pain in lower back / abdomen (3), aphrodisiac (3), hypertension (3), diabetes (2), nosebleed (2), snake bite (2), bruises (2), skin complaints / itching (2), toothache (2), eye infection (2), abscess (2), cough (2), birth control (2), mothers after childbirth (1), sprains / muscular pain (1), headache (1), rheumatism (1), neutralization of poison (1), scabies (1), influenza (1), head lice (1) and sprains / muscular pain (1).

Prominent plant families with species used medicinally include Euphorbiaceae (4 species recorded in this survey), Asteraceae , Fabaceae (= Leguminoase), Melastomataceae, Menispermaceae and Moraceae (all with 3 species each).
45 of the 68 species recorded as used in upper Tabalong do not appear to have been recorded previously as useful or medicinal plants in the available literature on this subject.
A useful product of this survey is a list of local names with equivalent scientific names. It was found, for example, that the name akar kuning (used to treat jaundice and malaria) is represented by at least two genera (both in the family Menispermaceae) while the so-called “male” and “female” forms of saluang belum which are mixed together are two species of one genus (Luvunga). True kapulaga (used as a spice and in jamu medicine and harvested as a non timber forest product in upper Tabalong) appears to be Amomum compactum, but other species in the family Zingiberaceae might incorrectly be referred to as kapulaga.
Local names include some names which appear to be used only in upper Tabalong and names which are widespread in Kalimantan and Indonesia.
Medication by dukun (traditional healers) involves use of plants for their chemically active ingredients, and as mantera (traditional conditions, rules or forms of treatment) to ‘support’ the chemical effects. Although most plants collected during this survey are not confined to old growth forest, this result probably reflects the greater familiarity of people with plants that grow near to villages, rather than lack of potentially useful chemical compounds in forest plants. Conservation of natural forests is important in order to conserve medicinal and other useful plants. As elsewhere, traditional knowledge of useful plants is declining, but there remains a considerable reservoir of knowledge in upper Tabalong