Baphia nitida

Baphia nitida (camwood, also barwood), also known as African sandalwood, is a shrubby, leguminous, hard-wooded tree from central west Africa. This wood is of a very fine colour, and is used in woodturning for making knife handles and similar articles.

Camwood

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Rosids
Order:
Fabales
Family:
Fabaceae
Genus:
Baphia
Species:
B. nitida
Binomial name
Baphia nitida
Lodd.
The distribution of Baphia nitida.
Synonyms[1]
  • Baphia angolensis sensu Lester-Garland
  • Baphia barombiensis Taub.
  • Baphia haematoxylon (Schum. & Thonn.) Hooker f.
  • Carpolobia versicolor G. Don
  • Delaria pyrifolia Desv.
  • Podalyria haematoxylon Schum. & Thonn.

The tree's bark and heartwood are commonly used to make a brilliant but non-permanent red dye, which is soluble in alkali.

Camwood is known as "osun" in Yoruba.

Pterocarpin is a pterocarpan found in B. nitida.[2]

Osun (camwood) extract is also used in some soaps and skin treatments, although there aren't published studies about its efficacy or safety.

Baphia nitida is a small, understorey, evergreen tree, often planted in villages.

References
  1. Soladoye MO (1985). "A revision of Baphia (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae)". Kew Bulletin. 40 (2): 291–386. doi:10.2307/4108263. JSTOR 4108263.
  2. "Pterocarpin at knapsack_jsp". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2013-02-05.


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