Judul: The variety of Wild Begonia Species on Palutungan Hiking Trail, Kuningan Ciremai Mountain National Park
Abstrak: Begonia di Jawa Barat umumnya tumbuh di daerah pegunungan dan hanya satu jenis tumbuh di dataran rendah. Inventarisasi jenis-jenis Begonia di Jawa Barat sudah banyak dilakukan terutama di bagian selatan Jawa Barat, karena memiliki kontur yang berbukit-bukit dan sangat cocok sebagai habitat Begonia. Sedangkan bagian utara Jawa Barat masih belum banyak dieksplorasi, salah satunya adalah Gunung Ciremai. Data keragaman jenis Begonia di Gunung Ciremai belum banyak diketahui, oleh karena itu perlu dilakukan penelitian terhadap keragaman jenis Begonia di Gunung Ciremai. Selain itu perlu dilakukan pendataan terhadap habitat dan iklim mikro dimana spesimen ditemukan. Oleh karena itu, telah dilakukan penelitian di Keanekaragaman jenis Begonia di Gunung Ciremai dengan tujuan untuk mendata jenis-jenis Begonia liar yang terdapat di Jalur Pendakian Gunung Ciremai serta menganalisis iklim mikro, habitat dan keterkaitannya dengan keberadaan Begonia liar. Metode yang dilakukan adalah dengan menjelajahi sepanjang jalur pendakian dan mencatat jumlah dari setiap jenis yang dijumpai, juga beberapa parameter kondisi iklim mikro di lokasi penelitian. Data keanekaragaman yang diperoleh dianalisis dengan menggunakan indeks Shannon-Wienner dan INP, sedangkan data iklim mikro dianalisis dengan Principal Component Analysis (PCA) menggunakan software minitab 16. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan terdapat empat jenis Begonia di jalur pendakian Gunung Ciremai, yaitu Begonia multangula Blume, Begonia areolata Miquel, Begonia robusta Blume, dan Begonia isoptera Dryand. Keempat jenis tersebut tumbuh pada kisaran suhu tanah 16℃ – 20℃, pada ketinggian antara 1200 mdpl sampai 2200 mdpl. Jenis Begonia yang paling banyak di jumpai adaah B. areolata yang tumbuh pada ketinggian 1700 mdpl – 2000 mdpl., Begonia in West Java generally grows in mountainous areas and only one type grows in the lowlands. Inventory of types of Begonias in West Java has been done mainly in the southern part of West Java, because it has hilly contour and is very suitable for Begonia habitat. While in the northern part of West Java has not been widely explored, one of which is Ciremai Mountain. The data of the diversity of Begonia species on Ciremai Mountain is not widely known, therefore it is necessary to conduct a research on the diversity of Begonia species in Ciremai Mountain. In addition, it is necessary to collect data on the habitat and microclimate in which the specimens are found. Therefore, research has been conducted on the diversity of Begonia species in Ciremai Mountain with the aim to record the species of wild Begonias found in the Ciremai Mountain hiking trails as well as analyze the microclimate, habitat and its association with the existence of wild Begonias. The method is to explore along the hiking trails and record the number of each species encountered, as well as some parameters of the microclimate conditions at the research sites. The diversity data obtained was analyzed using the Shannon-Wienner index and INP, while the microclimate data was analyzed by the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) using Minitab software 16. The results showed that there are four species of Begonia in the hiking trails of Ciremai mountain, they are called Begonia mutangula Blume, Begonia areolata Miquel, Begonia robusta Blume, and Begonia isoptera Dryand. The four species grow in the soil of temperature range
Keyword: B. areolata, B. isoptera, B. multangula, B. robusta, Ciremai Mountain