"Rattan is a spiny climbing palm that grows into the canopy of the tropical rain forest using a climbing whip in the form of cirrus or flagella. The natural distribution of rattan is from Africa, India, Sri Lanka, China, Malay Peninsula, Indonesian Archipelago, Papua New Guinea until Australia and Fiji. There are 9 genera and about 300 species of rattans in the Indonesian Archipelago.
In the forest of Indonesia, rattan grows from the lowland until the mountain area, that is from 0 to 2,900 meters about sea level (m asl). Its habitat is mostly on most area with annual rainfall above 2,000 to 4,000 mm per year.
Almost all part of rattan canes are used by people surrounding forest area for many of their everyday life. For Indonesia, rattan is a non timber forest product that gives the greatest income to the economy of the country. The country supplies 90 % of the world demands on rattan cane as the raw material for furniture.
For a management of a forest, it is believed that much basic knowledge about the nature of the forest is needed. One of them is to develop the forest as a resource of cane industry in a sustainable way. For this purpose the composition, distribution and density of rattan species in Gunung Halimun National Park (TNGH) were studied as a model. To facilitate a familiarity to the identity of rattan in TNGH, a study on the rattan flora of Java have been conducted. Hence the purpose of the study is to provide a manuscript of a field guide book of the rattan flora of Java and a study of the species composition, density and distribution of rattan in TNGH.
Data were collected from December 1994 until May 1995. For the rattan Flora of Java, all specimens herbarium at Herbarium Bogoriense and Forest Research and Development Center and Nature Conservation were observed. Quantitative characters were noted and measured to create the identification key and description of the species. For species composition on rattan in TNGH, three areas were observed namely in Gunung (G.) Kencana, G. Pameungpeuk, and G. Pangkulahan using a continues square transect method, from elevation 800 - 1,400 m asl.
The result of the study shows that, there are five genera consisting of 24 species of rattan in Java: Korthalsia (two species), Ceratolobus (two species), Plectocomia (two species), Calamus (14 species) and Daemonorops (four species). It is found that, Ceratolobus glaucescens, C. pseudoconcolor and Plectocomia longistigma are not included in the previous study done by Backer and Bakhuizen van den Brink, Jr.(1968), however this study supports their opinion that Calamus spectabilis and Daemonorops palembanicus are not found in Java.
From three areas in TNGH, it was found that there are 13 species of rattans in the region. In terms of species richness and densities, G. Pameungpeuk comes first, follows by G. Pangkulahan and G. Kencana. Calamus heteroideus, C. javensis, Daemonorops melanochaetes, and Plectocomia elongata are dominant both in seedling and nature forms. The rattans are relatively abundant in the areas less than 1000 m asl. and decrease in number of species as well as the minimal population in the higher altitude. Calanms ornatus occures in 800 - 1,400 m asl., Daemonorops ruber in 800 - 1,500 m asl., D. oblongus in 800 - 1,400 m asl . According to previous studies by DransfieId (1974) and Mahyar (1983), they were found only from 0 - 800 m asl."
Depok: Fakultas Matematika dan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam Universitas Indonesia, 1996
