Benito Tan, an internationally respected bryologist and an authority on Asian mosses, was fondly remembered by his former colleagues, friends, and students in A Special Tribute to Dr. Benito Tan, a series of papers published by Association of Systematic Biologists of the Philippines in his honour.

He came to Singapore following his appointment as Associate Professor in Botany in the National University of Singapore from 1998 to 2007. During his time with the university, he was appointed Deputy Director of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research from 1999 to 2007, as the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum was previously known.

Benito was much recognised internationally for his research on bryophytes, ferns and fern allies. In 2004, he received the prestigious Richard Spruce Award from the International Association of Bryologists for his work on Asian mosses. He became Vice President of the International Association of Bryologists (2005-2009). In 2013, Benito was accepted as Fellow Academician by the prestigious California Academy of Science. It is a life fellowship as once elected into the academy, researchers stay on as fellows for life.

An untiring researcher, he had collected and studied mosses in many countries, namely Australia, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, USA, and Vietnam.