Making sense of the botanical world through taxonomy

By Tajudeen Amusa

On Thursday, 22 October 2026, the Great Hall of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, will become the setting for another important moment in the intellectual life of the university as Professor Adepoju Tunde Joseph Ogunkunle, Professor of Plant Taxonomy and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management and Operations) of the university, delivers the institution’s 76th Inaugural Lecture.

On that day, scholars, university administrators, students, researchers, botanists, environmentalists, friends, associates and members of the public will gather to listen to another scholarly and intriguing rendition.

The lecture titled ‘Making Sense Out of Chaos: Taxonomy as a Universal ‘Digestive System’ Amidst Plentiful Harvest But Few Workers’ promises to take its audience beyond the conventional view of taxonomy as simply the naming and classification of plants and other organisms. It is expected, instead, to present taxonomy as an essential intellectual and scientific mechanism through which humanity makes sense of the astonishing diversity of the living world.

The natural world presents humanity with an extraordinary abundance of organisms, forms, structures and variations. Plants may look deceptively similar while differing fundamentally in their characteristics, properties and uses. Indeed, closely related species can pose considerable challenges to identification. A wrong identification may consequently lead to erroneous scientific conclusions, inappropriate medicinal use, faulty conservation decisions or confusion in communication. Taxonomy provides the means of bringing order to this complexity, and Professor Ogunkunle’s scholarship demonstrates a sustained interest in improving that process.

For Professor Ogunkunle, taxonomy is not merely an academic speciality, it has been a career-long engagement with one of the most fundamental questions in biological science: how do we recognise, distinguish, name, classify and communicate accurately about the organisms upon which human life depends? That question has shaped much of his scholarly journey. Over the years, however, his research has moved beyond identifying plants to examining the very tools by which identification is achieved. He has studied taxonomic keys, their structures, usability and limitations, while exploring alternative ways of presenting diagnostic information to make the complex more intelligible. Thus, he has not been content merely to ask, “What plant is this?” He has also asked a more fundamental question: how can we make the process of finding the answer more effective, accessible and adaptable? This continuing search for better approaches to plant identification has given his work relevance beyond conventional taxonomy, with implications for healthcare, food production, forest resource management, environmental protection and biodiversity conservation.

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The significance of Professor Ogunkunle’s work becomes even clearer in the context of Nigeria and Africa, which possess immense biological diversity and plant resources of ecological, medicinal, agricultural, cultural and economic importance. This biodiversity cannot be properly conserved, utilised or communicated if its components are inadequately known or incorrectly identified. Accurate identification is a foundation for understanding, managing and sustainably using biological resources. It is within this seemingly simple but profoundly important task of making sense of biological diversity that Professor Ogunkunle’s scholarship finds its enduring relevance.

As a university don, Professor Ogunkunle has contributed to the training of generations of students in biological science, helping them to look beyond the classroom and appreciate the intricate diversity of the natural world. His teaching has been complemented by postgraduate supervision and mentorship, through which he has contributed to the development of young scholars and the continuity of knowledge in his field. His contributions have also extended beyond teaching and research. As Head of Department, he participated in the academic and administrative processes through which a department is nurtured, coordinated and positioned for growth. As Professor and, subsequently, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, his responsibilities have assumed a broader institutional dimension, involving not only scholarship but also leadership, policy, administration and the development and management of the University. These different dimensions of his career reveal a scholar whose journey has moved naturally from understanding plants to helping others understand them, and from managing academic responsibilities to contributing to the wider management and development of the university.

An inaugural lecture occupies a special place in the life of a Professor. It provides an opportunity to step back from individual studies and consider what an accumulated body of scholarship means. It is a moment when research findings, intellectual questions, experiences and observations are brought together into a coherent scholarly narrative. For Professor Ogunkunle, the lecture provides such an opportunity to reflect on a career devoted to understanding plant diversity, improving the tools of identification and advancing knowledge in his field. It brings together the different strands of his scholarship while placing them within the broader realities of a world increasingly confronted by questions of biodiversity, natural-resource use and environmental change.

The 76th Inaugural Lecture of LAUTECH is poised to be both a celebration of a scholar’s intellectual journey and an opportunity to reflect on the continuing relevance of taxonomy in contemporary knowledge. Professor Ogunkunle will speak not only as a Professor of Plant Taxonomy and university administrator, but also as a son of Tede and Oke-Ogun whose scholarly journey has been devoted to questioning, refining and improving the ways in which we understand the botanical world.

Amusa is a Professor of Forest Resources Management at the University of Ilorin.