Temitope Olabisi Onuminya

• BSc., Ph.D. (Botany)
• Professor at University of Lagos

Cattle rearing is the main means of livelihood for the Fulani people in the highlands of Gashaka Gumti National Park in Nigeria, however the remote location and inaccessible terrain prevent access to modern veterinary care. This puts both livestock and their keepers at risk. To survive, the inhabitants of this area rely on traditional methods to he...

The present study investigates the floral diversity of the Lagos coastal environments by sampling 21 points using the quadrat method. The study revealed two major aquatic ecosystem types (mangrove and freshwater swamp) and recorded 125 species belonging to 108 genera and 49 families. While Alchornea cordifolia and Raphia hookeri were found as the m...

The cultivation of fonio in Western Africa has been greatly hindered by the low amount of rainfall. Crop failure due to drought has been widely reported in Nigeria, which has led to research on different crops with paucity of information on fonio. The present study evaluated six drought genotypes of fonio to determine their physiological and bioche...

Characterization of available germplasm is a necessary step to facilitate breeding programs worldwide. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize twenty accessions of Cowpea from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria. The accessions were planted in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The morphological c...

This study focuses on the significance of airborne pollen grains and spores as markers for tracking vehicles along specific routes. Using standard methods, the research examined monthly pollen distribution and its correlation with meteorological data. Dust and soot samples were collected monthly from the car air filters of commercial vehicles trave...

Nigeria is one of the most floristic rich countries on the continent of Africa due to the variation in climate, which favors the growth of several species. Sadly, its biodiversity is one of the most threatened in the world, mainly due to deforestation and various unsustainable land use patterns, which are human activities. However, these anthropoge...

Nigeria is one of the most floristic rich countries on the continent of Africa due to the variation in climate, which favors the growth of several species. Sadly, its biodiversity is one of the most threatened in the world mainly due to deforestation and various forms of unsustainable land use patterns, which are human activities. However, these an...

This study aimed to gain insights into the diversity and use of the collections of the Lagos University Herbarium (LUH), Nigeria. A total of 1509 species representing 188 plant families in 57 plant orders were recorded. This comprises dicotyledons (1260); monocotyledons (217); ferns (29); moss (1); conifers (1); and macro algae (1). About 1007 spec...

The Lagos-Shagamu-Abeokuta Expressway is a globally important biodiversity hotspot and is facing rapid loss in floristic diversity and changing patterns of vegetation due to various biotic and abiotic factors. This has necessitated the qualitative and quantitative assessment of floral diversity and population structure. The vegetation survey along...

Leafy vegetables are important in human nutrition; however, their diversity as seen in the dishes in South western Nigeria appears to be diminishing. Many popular delicacies are no longer available in the markets. Therefore, this research was conducted to identify and document leafy vegetables in South West Nigeria, assess their ethnobotanical uses...

Synsepalum dulcificum , a potent natural sweetener, is notably used in the traditional treatment of Diabetes mellitus in Nigeria though scientific explanation for its use is not well known. In this study, the phytochemical, proximate and hypoglycemic potential of the leaf and stem extracts (ethanol and aqueous) of S. dulcificum were investigated. T...

Background and Objective: Cowpea is a pantropical and highly variable crop plant with diverse varieties. The importance of morphological characters in resolving complex differences that coexist among this genus cannot be overemphasized. This study aimed at assessing the qualitative and quantitative characters of ten cowpea accessions collected from...

Purpose of Review Biodiversity remains an immense source of benefit to mankind and a major contributor to his well-being. Severe loss of biodiversity necessitated the conservation of a part of the biodiversity hotspots as protected areas. Despite this initiative, a sizable part of the conserved hotspots was still lost to anthropogenic factors among...

A preliminary checklist of the Orchidaceae of Gashaka Gumti National Park (GGNP) is presented, based on previous reports on the flora of GGNP and recent botanical explorations. The results from this study recorded 80 orchid species in 38 genera. The collection consists of 84% epiphytes and 16% terrestrial orchids. The genera with highest number of...

Resource-poor settings which are typical of underdeveloped and developing countries, among others, often stifle the potential of sciences for societal development. More so, women scientists from these settings often grapple with career advancement up to leadership or managerial levels due to perceived and cultural bias that are gender specific. The...

A taxonomic study was carried out of members of the genus Placodiscus represented in West Africa and Cameroon, in order to present complementary data on adequate recognition of the species. A total of thirteen species were assessed based on quantitative and qualitative macro-morphological and foliar epidermal characters. The findings have shown tha...

Rapid loss in flora diversity, changing patterns of vegetation and land use patterns in the University of Lagos Akoka campus has necessitated investigation on the herb and grass species so as to determine their composition, structure and diversity within the area. Twenty sampling plots of 10m x 10m each were studied in five selected locations using...

Snakebites are a major health concern in rural Nigeria which have led to high mortality and suffering in victims due to lack of basic social amenities, ill-equipped hospitals, costly treatments and distance to hospitals. An alternative to treat snakebites is the utilization of herbal invigorating plants however traditional knowledge about plants us...

Zanha golungensis Hiern. is one of the commonly used species of Sapindaceae in Nigeria owing to its medicinal properties; however, taxonomic data on the species are limited. In this study, morphological, anatomical and phytochemical characters of the leaf and stem of Z. golungensis were assessed with a view to add to existing literature on the spec...

Abstract The genus Pancovia comprises economically important plants native to Africa. Here, a systematic study was carried out on six species of Pancovia with a view to elucidate the significance of their characters for identification purposes. Morphological and leaf epidermis characters of the plants were assessed based on herbarium specimens. Use...

The Lagos coastal environment, a very delicate assemblage of coastal ecosystems, lies in the tropical lowland forest zone of southwest Nigeria. This paper analyses the long-term present and future climatic trend over the Lagos coastal environment using historical station-measured rainfall and temperature data for Ikeja, Lagos Island and Ijebu Ode s...

Pollen and spores obtained from sediments of Ologun in the east Lagos coastal environment were analyzed, in order to reconstruct vegetation in the past and infer the paleoclimate. Sediments were collected by universal peat corer and palynomorphs were recovered following the standard palynological procedures. A total of 503 palynomorphs were recover...

Cypermethrin is a pyrethroid pesticide used on agricultural farms in Nigeria to control pests of fruits and vegetables but this is highly toxic to aquatic organisms. To determine toxicity of chemicals, Allium cepa is commonly used as an established bioassay however the bulb is used whole. Allium sativum in contrast is able to be split into cloves o...

Background and Objective: Information from the distribution of palynomorphs is used to infer past vegetation changes and paleo-climatic settings, characteristic of a particular environment. This palynological studies aimed to assess the distribution of palynomorphs and reconstruct the past vegetation and make inferences on the paleoclimate of a lat...

Drought is one of the greatest threats affecting agricultural productivity in sub-Sahara Africa. In view of this, the present study was aimed at screening for drought tolerance in Acha. The status of seventy - five collections from thirty - four towns in seventeen Local Government Areas of the five northern states were evaluated at the National Cen...

Acha is a crop endowed with wealth of nutritional and medicinal uses, yet the rate at which the crop is being lost is at alarming rate. Hence, the need for germplasm collection, preservation and utilization for future improvement. This study carried out exploration trip on Acha collections (Digitaria exilis and Digitaria iburua) with a view to un...

The loss of market values and problem of pests in the stored grains has contributed to the problem of food security in Africa. Post-harvest losses due to Sitophilus zeamais remain an important constraint to grain storage in Africa. Also, use of chemical insecticides have increased food poisoning thus there is resurgence need of using botanical pest...

Ten acha accessions (Digitaria sp.) collected from Kaduna (K1, K2, K3, K4 and K5), Nassarawa (NA1 and NA2) and Niger (NI1, NI2 and NI3) States, in the Northern parts of Nigeria were evaluated for their size (length and width) of corticated and decorticated grains and shape, number of nerves on the abaxial and adaxial surfaces of the glumes and vari...

Dodonaeoideae Burnett is a subfamily of flowering plants in the soapberry family Sapindaceae Juss. Leaf epidermal characteristics of some species in the subfamily Dodonaeoideae were studied with the aid of a compound light and scanning electron microscopes in order to evaluate their reliability as taxonomic markers. Both qualitative and quantitativ...

Many of the leafy vegetables used for food in Nigeria are neglected and underutilized. To assess their diversity in Lagos State, an ethnobotanical survey and genetic conservation was carried out to preserve indigenous knowledge on their usage and conserve their DNA for future use. This involved collection of leafy vegetables from eight different ma...

Waste accumulation occurs when waste is not readily disposed and this leads to filth, diseased conditions and poor aesthetic appeal. In Lagos, the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) is the body responsible for collection of waste in Lagos State by keeping plastic refuse bin at designated locations in the metropolis. This work aims to ap...

A systematic survey of leafy vegetables in three different markets in Lagos state, Nigeria was carried out to compare their proximate and phytochemical compositions. The vegetable samples were oven dried for two weeks, pulverized into powdery form and soaked in ethanol for extraction of bioactive constituents. The proximate and phytochemical analys...

Date fruits are one of the very common fruits known to man having a lot of vitamins and minerals necessary for the wellbeing of an individual. In this study, the aqueous, ethanolic, n-hexane and diethylether extracts of date fruits (Phoenix dactylifera L.) obtained from a local market were analyzed for their phytochemical and proximate composition...

A brief historical taxonomic sketch as well as distribution of Sapindaceae in West Africa, Cameroon and Madagascar is presented based on extensive study of herbaria and field collections. The infrafamilial taxonomy of the family Sapindaceae was re-examined using both qualitative and quantitative morphological characters. A total of 17 vegetative an...

The genus Afzelia Sm. (Fabaceae) represents one of the most useful tree species in tropical Africa. These trees have huge socioeconomic and ecological importance, but are under serious threat from incessant exploitation. This has caused a decline of the species in the wild; several species are now registered as threatened and endangered in the IUCN...

Sapindaceae Jussieu is a family of flowering plants in the Order Sapindales. Members of the family exist as trees and shrubs, and tendril-bearing vines with about 140-150 genera and 1400-2000 species worldwide. They are economically, medicinally and aesthetically useful. This research aimed at exploring the diversity of Sapindaceae in West and Cent...

This study investigates the rate of concurrent depletion on the remnant flora growing in the northeastern part of Lagos, which lies in the south-western part of Nigeria. Tree species growing in this area are not spared from advancing civilization, which has resulted in inevitable loss of genetic resources. Hence, molecular technique is adopted in a...

One of the major challenges faced by biologist during field studies is the identification of plant species and this is most evident in the tropics where biodiversity richness is very high. Hence this study was conducted in order to document and produce a guide for the identification of the diversity of life forms that represents the family Sapindac...

A rapid survey of plants of Mambilla Plateau, Nigeria was carried out and a compilation of their Fulfude names was made. A total of 183 plant species comprising 2 pteridophytes and 181 angiosperms were documented. The compilation revealed elements of folk taxonomy in naming of plants in Fulfude language. It is expected that this report will assist...

The following checklist is provided as the most complete compilation of the tree species growing on Akoka Campus of University of Lagos, south-western Nigeria. This checklist was derived from extensive field survey, with the view of investigating the concurrent depletion on the remnant flora and inventory of all the tree species. Data collection wa...

Melons belong to the family Cucurbitaceae; it is one of the most important cash crops globally. Their demand is in a very high quantity, especially here in Nigeria. In order to improve the yield of this highly demanded crop, a study was under taken to ascertain the pattern of its genetic diversity. During this study, eighteen melon cultivars sample...

This study was conducted using qualitative and quantitative morphology to characterise and group different representative species of the family Sapindaceae in Africa. The morphological characters used included leaf, stem and fruit. Essentially, the similarities among various taxa in the family were estimated. A total of 28 genera and 106 species we...

Modeling studies were carried out on Chrysophyllum albidum, an important economic species in Nigeria. This study attempts to estimate the occurrence, and at the same time investigate the major climatic factors responsible for the geographical distribution of the species in South-West part of the country using Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) program. A tot...

This paper aims at documenting species belonging to the family Sapindaceae in West Africa. Samples were collected for 2years (May 2008 – April 2010) using random sampling from various sites including botanic gardens and forest reserves. One hundred and four taxa were observed encompassing 26 genera: Allophylus (16), Aporrhiza (3), Blighia (3), Card...

For any meaningful genetic research, basic techniques of biotechnology must be in place, one of which is isolation of DNA. Although several protocols exist for the extraction of plant DNA, a major but limiting step in genetic research is poor extraction. This study was conducted in order to isolate pure genomic DNA from some members of family Sapin...

Generally, biodiversity is being threatened globally by climate change as well as human activities and this has aroused concerns about the conservation status. This study was designed with the aim of searching for existing, new and unrecorded plant species of the family Sapindaceae in West Africa so as to better understand the extent of diversity a...

Members of the family Sapindaceae provides various benefits in combating increasing malnutrition and poverty in West Africa. Due to their multiple uses, their high nutritional and medicinal value, members of Sapindaceae have been identified as one of the most important forest species to be conserved and valued in Africa. Therefore, it is important...