Insufficient collection capacity and facility, bane of plant taxonomic research in Nigeria

Abstract

This article explores the pivotal role of herbaria in supporting taxonomic research in Nigeria and highlights the need to improve herbarium infrastructure to enhance plant diversity research in the country. Thirteen herbaria are currently recognized in Nigeria on the Index Herbariorum database and collectively house about 260 000 specimens. The Forest Herbarium Ibadan (FHI) is the largest, containing nearly 50% of these specimens. Based on the occurrence data of Nigerian plants on the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), the herbaria, namely FHI, ABUH, LUH, NAUH, and UNICAL contributed only 29.9% compared to international herbaria (70.1%). This disparity underscores the need to strengthen the herbarium collection infrastructure in Nigeria. Taxonomic revisionary studies in Nigeria are very scarce as most of the studies have focused on the morpho-anatomical analysis of plant taxa. The poor taxonomic capacity in the country, which is due to insufficiency of collection capacity and trained taxonomists, has been a bane to the compilation of flora of Nigeria and the inability to document the conservation status of threatened plant species, as more than half (66.0%) of Nigeria’s plants published on GBIF have not been evaluated. There is an urgent need for capacity building for plant collection, curation, and taxonomic review.