== Other botanical information ==
''Baphia'' comprises about 45 species and is largely confined to tropical Africa with most species present in Nigeria and Cameroon. Benin camwood (''Baphia pubescens'' Hook.f. (synonym: ''Baphia bancoensis'' Aubrév.)) has a distribution similar to that of ''Baphia nitida'', but extending into DR Congo and their vernacular names and uses are more or less interchangeable. Its heartwood is also a source of a red dye but it has been less exploited. ''Baphia pubescens'' differs from ''Baphia nitida'' in its leaves, which are hairy below, and in its hairy ovary.
=== ''Baphia pubescens'' ===Benin camwood, ''[[Baphia pubescens]]'' Hook.f. (synonym: ''Baphia bancoensis'' Aubrév.), has a distribution similar to that of ''Baphia nitida'', but extending into DR Congo and their vernacular names and uses are more or less interchangeable. Its heartwood is also a source of a red dye but it has been less exploited. ''Baphia pubescens'' differs from ''Baphia nitida'' in its leaves, which are hairy below, and in its hairy ovary. === ''Baphia massaiensis'' ===In northern Namibia the roots of ''[[Baphia massaiensis]]'' Taub. subsp. ''obovata'' (Schinz) Brummitt are used as a source of a red dye for leather hides. The roots are crushed, mixed with water, and skins are steeped in the dye bath, taking up the red dye within about one day. Formerly ox-stomachs used as aprons by women were dyed in the same way, then tanned and stretched out to dry. ''Baphia massaiensis'' occurs from southern DR Congo and Tanzania to northern South Africa, and differs from ''Baphia nitida'' in its long bracteoles, pubescent ovary and usually rounded or obtuse leaf apex. It is an extremely variable species.
== Ecology ==