PJB-2023-130
ETHNOBOTANY OF OKRA (ABELMOSCHUS ESCULENTUS (L.) MOENCH.; MALVACEAE) IN WAWONII COMMUNITY, SOUTHEAST SULAWESI IN RELATION WITH BIOGEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND
Mulyati Rahayu
Abstract
Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench (Malvaceae) is a plant species belonging to the mallow family (Malvaceae). Its origin is disputed from one of the possible areas of Southeast Asia, where five of the eleven species of the Abelmoschus genus are found. Regardless of its origins, okra has been known to the people of Wawonii Island, Southeast Sulawesi, for at least 200 years and is believed to have been brought in by nomads from the Bugis and Kolesusu tribes from Buton Island or initially as an invasive plant brought from the Americas when the Dutch established cotton plantations (Gossypium spp., especially G. hirsutum and G. barbadense; Malvaceae) in Southern Sulawesi in the early 20th century. Ethnobotanical data were collected through direct observation at the research site and semi-structured interviews. Observations and interviews were conducted in an open-ended and structured manner with key informants. The key informants in this study were farmers, traditional leaders, healers, and homemakers. The obtained data were descriptively analyzed, and tabulated in Table and Figure. The tradition of using Okra as a ritual plant related to land clearing for rice planting is unique to Wawonii Island. It is a new invention, not the original legacy of the great Austronesian civilization. Therefore, ethnobotanically it is concluded that Okra is not a natural native plant of Flora Malesiana. The traditional uses of plants are still a common practice on the island. The great diversity of plants gives the need for their conservation and sustainable use to be established and monitored.
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