Ethnobotanical Study of Forest Tuber Plants as Local Food Resources in Sonraen, Indonesia
DOI:
10.29303/jbt.v26i3.12770Published:
2026-07-23Downloads
Abstract
Forest tuber plants are important non-timber forest products that contribute to local food security and the preservation of traditional knowledge in rural communities. However, the use of these indigenous food resources has declined due to changing dietary patterns and limited documentation of ethnobotanical knowledge. This study aimed to identify forest tuber species used as local food resources and describe their traditional processing practices in Sonraen Village, South Amarasi District, Kupang Regency, Indonesia. The research was conducted from 1–28 February 2026 using a descriptive ethnobotanical approach. Data were collected through field observations, exploration surveys, semi-structured interviews, documentation, and plant specimen identification. Five forest tuber species were identified: Dioscorea esculenta L., Colocasia esculenta L., Canna edulis Kerr (red and white varieties), and Dioscorea alata L. Dioscorea esculenta, Colocasia esculenta, and Dioscorea alata showed the highest citation frequency (20%), whereas white Canna edulis had the lowest (8%). Community knowledge of forest tuber utilization was categorized as good and has been transmitted across generations as part of local wisdom. Traditional processing includes washing, peeling, cutting, and boiling the tubers over wood-fired stoves before consumption as staple foods or rice substitutes. These findings demonstrate the potential of forest tubers as alternative local food resources and provide baseline data for developing food diversification programs based on local wisdom, while supporting biodiversity conservation and the sustainable management of non-timber forest products. Further studies on nutritional composition, cultivation, and value-added processing are recommended to promote their broader utilization.
Keywords:
Ethnobotany Forest tuber plants Food security Indigenous knowledge Local food resourcesReferences
Badan Pusat Statistik Kabupaten Kupang. (2024). Kabupaten Kupang dalam Angka 2024. BPS Kabupaten Kupang. https://kupangkab.bps.go.id
Badan Pusat Statistik Provinsi Nusa Tenggara Timur. (2024). Provinsi Nusa Tenggara Timur dalam Angka 2024. BPS Provinsi NTT. https://ntt.bps.go.id
Cotton, C. M. (1996). Ethnobotany: Principles and Applications. John Wiley & Sons.
Gunarti, D., Nurhayati, S., & Widodo, A. (2021). Analisis nilai penting tumbuhan berdasarkan pendekatan etnobotani. Jurnal Biologi Tropis, 21(3), 779–789. https://doi.org/10.29303/jbt.v21i3.2803
Alam, M. K. (2021). A comprehensive review of Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott: Nutritional composition, phytochemistry, and therapeutic potential. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 6, 100221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2021.100221
Aulia, S. A., & Mulyanto, D. (2024). Gathering edible wild plants in a mountain village of West Java, Indonesia: diversity of species, utilizations, and local perceptions. Journal of Tropical Ethnobiology, 7(2), 79-101. https://doi.org/10.46359/jte.v7i2.185
Behera, S., Sahoo, J. P., Panda, D., & Nayak, S. (2023). Physico-chemical compositions, nutraceutical properties, and starch-related techno-functional, thermal and morphological characteristics of underutilized yam flour (Dioscorea spp.) from Odisha. Food Bioscience, 56, 103103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbio.2023.103103
Berkes, F. (2018). Sacred ecology (4th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315114644
FAO. (2022). The State of the World's Forests 2022: Forest pathways for green recovery and building inclusive, resilient and sustainable economies. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb9360en
FAO. (2024). Non-wood forest products. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://www.fao.org/forestry/nwfp
Food and Agriculture Organization. (2020). The State of the World's Forests 2020: Forests, Biodiversity and People. FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8642en
Food and Agriculture Organization. (2021). Indigenous Peoples' Food Systems: Insights on Sustainability and Resilience from the Front Line of Climate Change. FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb5131en
Gupta, K., Kumar, A., Tomer, V., Kumar, V., & Saini, M. (2019). Potential of Colocasia esculenta (taro): A review on nutritional, functional and processing properties. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 56(8), 3589–3601. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-019-03851-5
Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan Republik Indonesia. (2023). Statistik Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan Tahun 2023. KLHK. https://www.menlhk.go.id
Koentjaraningrat. (2009). Pengantar Ilmu Antropologi. Rineka Cipta.
Łuczaj, Ł., Pieroni, A., Tardío, J., Pardo-de-Santayana, M., Sõukand, R., Svanberg, I., & Kalle, R. (2021). Wild food plant use in 21st-century Europe: The disappearance of old traditions and the search for new cuisines involving wild edibles. Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae, 90(1), 915. https://doi.org/10.5586/asbp.915
Min, Q., He, L., Sun, Y., & Zhang, D. (2024). Wild edible plants contribute to sustainable food systems, biodiversity conservation, and rural livelihoods. Plants, 13(5), 673. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13050673
Min, S., Kim, E., Dayandante, P. B., & Park, M. S. (2024). Diagnosing the status and trend of research on traditional knowledge related to non-timber forest products as food. Trees, Forests and People, 17, 100646. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2024.100646
Naisali, H., Witoyo, J. E., Utoro, P. A. R., & Permatasari, N. D. (2023). Kajian Pustaka Karakteristik Fisiko-Kimia Jagung dari Nusa Tenggara Timur, dan Produk Turunan Tradisionalnya. AGRICA, 16(2), 151-163. https://doi.org/10.37478/agr.v16i2.3006
Pérez, E., Schultz, F. S., & de Delahaye, E. P. (2021). Characterization of starch isolated from tropical roots and tubers for food applications. Food Reviews International, 37(6), 565–584. https://doi.org/10.1080/87559129.2019.1709552
Powell, B., Thilsted, S. H., Ickowitz, A., Termote, C., Sunderland, T., & Herforth, A. (2015). Improving diets with wild and cultivated biodiversity from across the landscape. Food Security, 7(3), 535–554. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-015-0466-5
Quave, C. L., & Pieroni, A. (2015). A reservoir of ethnobotanical knowledge informs resilient food security and health strategies in the Balkans. Nature Plants, 1, 14021. https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2014.21
Republic of Indonesia. (1999). Undang-Undang Nomor 41 Tahun 1999 tentang Kehutanan. Sekretariat Negara Republik Indonesia. https://peraturan.bpk.go.id
Rowland, D., Ickowitz, A., Powell, B., Nasi, R., & Sunderland, T. (2017). Forest foods and healthy diets: Quantifying the contributions. Environmental Conservation, 44(2), 102–114. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892916000151
Santosa, B. A. S., Harmayani, E., & Marsono, Y. (2019). Functional properties of canna starch (Canna edulis Kerr) and its potential application in food products. International Food Research Journal, 26(3), 871–879.
Sujarwo, W., Caneva, G., & Guarrera, P. M. (2014). Traditional foods and edible wild plants in Bali. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 10, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-4269-10-14
Sujarwo, W., Keim, A. P., Savo, V., Guarrera, P. M., & Caneva, G. (2016). Ethnobotanical study of traditional building materials and cultural importance of plants in Bali Aga society, Indonesia. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 12, 58. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-016-0137-9
Tardío, J., & Pardo-de-Santayana, M. (2008). Cultural importance indices: A comparative analysis based on the useful wild plants of Southern Cantabria (Northern Spain). Economic Botany, 62(1), 24–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-007-9004-5
Triyanto, D., Wibowo, A., & Nugroho, A. (2024). Diversity of wild edible plants and their utilization in Central Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas, 25(2), 945–956. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d250245
United Nations. (2015). Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda
Wang, Y., Li, X., Zhang, H., & Chen, G. (2023). Nutritional composition, phytochemicals, and health benefits of yam (Dioscorea spp.): A review. Food Research International, 169, 112862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2023.112862
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Nur Aini Bunyani, Olivia Jihan Stifani Bait, Maya F. Roman
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Jurnal Biologi Tropis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The copyright of the received article shall be assigned to the author as the owner of the paper. The intended copyright includes the right to publish the article in various forms (including reprints). The journal maintains the publishing rights to the published articles.
Authors are permitted to disseminate published articles by sharing the link/DOI of the article at the journal. Authors are allowed to use their articles for any legal purposes deemed necessary without written permission from the journal with an acknowledgment of initial publication to this journal.
