Living Dictionary of Woody Plants

In Indonesia, there is only a handful of people focusing on the study of basic botanical science in the form of the taxonomy of woody plants. Among that handful is Krisma Lekitoo, a researcher from West Papua.

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Krisma Lekitoo, a researcher of dendrology or the taxonomy of wood plants at the Environment and Forestry Ministry’s Development and Innovation Agency in Manokwari, West Papua

Among forestry researchers, Krisma is recognized as a reliable dendrologist -- a person who studies woody plants. He has 20 years of experience studying the jungle of remote Papua. From there, he collected at least 1,500 leaf specimens along with various woody plant fruits.

The specimens form a collection at a humble herbarium Krisma founded in Manokwari, West Papua. The herbarium has become a reference for students and researchers studying the morphology and taxonomy of woody plants.

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Thanks to his long experience in the field, Krisma has memorized most of approximately 15,000 species of woody plants in Papua, of which 1,278 are endemic to the region. In addition, he memorized most of the 25,000 woody plants found throughout Indonesia. Krisma says his ability to memorize the names of species -- including their scientific Latin names -- is a gift from God. He honed the talent by studying in detail the characteristics and uniqueness of each plant. Through these characteristics, he can recognize each plant well.

He likens it to the way humans recognize each other, which is based on physical characteristics, such as the location of moles, skin color, eye shape and hair type. "If we know ones’ characteristics and often meet them, we definitely remember their name," he said at the University of Papua’s (Unipa) School of Forestry in Manokwari on Thursday (13/02/2020), after giving a lecture.

Aside from being a researcher with the Forestry Research Institute in Manokwari, Krisma is also listed as a guest lecturer at Unipa. That afternoon, he looked relaxed, with a white-collar shirt, hiking pants and a small bag.

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Krisma Lekitoo

Playing in the woods

Krisma\'s interest in the world of plants has grown since he was a child. At that time, he was accustomed to playing in the Mount Meja forest, which is now designated a natural tourism park, in Manokwari. He was familiar with the forest and its plants.

His interest grew stronger when he continued his studies at the School of Forestry, Unipa (at that time it was the School of Agriculture at Cenderawasih University). It was at that campus that he studied the science of woody plants (dendrology) more systematically. "Dendrology is [not very popular], because to pursue it we must know the theory, be willing to enter the forest and want to practice," he said.

During his university years, he went in and out of the forest. He collected leaf specimens from the forest to improve his study about plants. Krisma used to go in and out of the forest for three days. After that, he spent three days studying the various specimens he had collected. He made a 3 days-3 days formula. "My principle was I have to do it to the fullest," he said to explain his determination to study woody plants thoroughly.

Dendrology is [not very popular], because to pursue it we must know the theory, be willing to enter the forest and want to practice.

Krisma\'s perseverance bore fruit. He became a student with outstanding achievements at the campus. However, at one point, he felt stuck in his efforts to study dendrology. He had trouble integrating plant characteristics, Latin names and identification keys. "I felt I needed someone smart [to teach me]," he said.

The path to explore dendrology opened in 2000. He was accepted as a researcher at the Forestry Research and Development Agency of the Ministry of Forestry (now the Environment and Forestry Ministry’s Research, Development and Innovation Agency), being assigned to the Forestry Research Center in Manokwari. This center studies all aspects of forestry in Papua.

This position brought Krisma together with Kade Sidiyasa, a senior researcher and the forestry ministry\'s primary dendrologist. From this "guru", Krisma absorbed many lessons, including tips on becoming a dendrologist.

"I am proud that [Kade] called me his student, because as far as I know, there were no other researchers he called students," Krisma said of the deceased teacher.

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Krisma Lekitoo

Successor

After years of being a woody plant researcher, Krisma was worried, because the number of dendrologists in Indonesia was very limited. He hoped to be able to teach and prepare others who wanted to pursue this knowledge. At present, there are nine people who have been specifically educated to be his successors.

Although it is classified as a basic science, the introduction of plants allows one to understand ecology accurately and correctly, lest one gets it wrong. Krisma mentioned a misconception that the matoa tree is endemic to Papua, as reported during the inauguration of the Press Forest Park of Indonesia’s Endemic Plants in South Kalimantan earlier this month.

According to Krisma, the matoa tree is not endemic to the province, as it has spread naturally outside of Papua, even in Thailand. "It\'s just that the matoa grows well in Papua," he said.

In addition to the matter of categorization, Krisma added, dendrology is also useful when combined with geology. The presence of certain plants can indicate the potential of mineral deposits in a location. Therefore, mapping of plant species can at the same time map the mining potential of a location.

At present, Krisma is preparing scientific evidence for the identification of at least seven new species of woody plants from remote inland areas of Papua.

Krisma Lekitoo

Born: Wasior (Wondama Bay, West Papua), July 31, 1976

Wife: Novita Panambe

Education: SMAN 1 Manokwari (1990-1993); undergraduate degree in forestry from Cenderawasih University (1993-1998); Master’s in forestry from Gadjah Mada University (2009-2011)