Baphia nitida
| Camwood | |
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| Species: | B. nitida
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| Binomial name | |
| Baphia nitida Lodd.
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| The distribution of Baphia nitida. | |
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Baphia nitida, also known as camwood, barwood, and African sandalwood (although not a true sandalwood), is a shrubby, leguminous, hard-wooded tree from central west Africa. It is a small understorey, evergreen tree, often planted in villages, and known as osun in Yoruba.
The wood is of a very fine colour, and is used in woodturning for making knife handles and similar articles. The tree's bark and heartwood are commonly used to make a brilliant but non-permanent red dye, which is soluble in alkali.
Pterocarpin is a pterocarpan found in B. nitida.[2]
Osun (camwood) extract is also used in some soaps and skin treatments, although there are no published studies about its efficacy or safety.
References[]
- ^ Soladoye MO (1985). "A revision of Baphia (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae)". Kew Bulletin. 40 (2): 291–386. doi:10.2307/4108263. JSTOR 4108263.
- ^ "Pterocarpin at knapsack_jsp". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
External links[]
- VIRBOGA - Baphia nitida
- Dressler, S.; Schmidt, M. & Zizka, G. (2014). "Baphia nitida". African plants – a Photo Guide. Frankfurt/Main: Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg.
- . The American Cyclopædia. 1879.
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