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''Baphia nitida'', also known as camwood, barwood, and African sandalwood (although not a true
sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus '' Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for ...
), is a shrubby, leguminous, hard-wooded tree from central west
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. It is a small understorey,
evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
tree, often planted in villages, and known as ''osun'' in
Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba consti ...
. 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 In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of ...
. Pterocarpin is a pterocarpan found in ''B. nitida''. Osun (camwood) extract is also used in some soaps and skin treatments, primarily among the Yoruba people of West Africa. The extract of the Camwood can be formed into a soft soap like material that is thought to promote healthy skin.


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VIRBOGA - Baphia nitida
* nitida Trees of Africa {{Baphia-stub