Baphia is a small genus of legumes that bear simple leaves.[3] Baphia is from the Greek word βάπτω (báptō-, "to dip" or "to dye"), referring to a red dye that is extracted from the heartwood of tropical species.[3][4] The genus is restricted to the African tropics. Baphia was traditionally assigned to the tribe Sophoreae;[5] however, recent molecular phylogenetic analyses reassigned Baphia to the tribe Baphieae.[6][7][8][9]
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Baphia comprises the following species:[1][10][11][12]
Section Alata M.O.Soladoye
Section Baphia Lodd.
Series Contiguinae M.O.Soladoye
- Baphia angolensis Baker
- Baphia brachybotrys Harms
- Baphia breteleriana M.O.Soladoye
- Baphia buettneri Harms
- subsp. buettneri Harms
- subsp. hylophila (Harms) M.O.Soladoye
- Baphia gossweileri Baker f.
- Baphia incerta De Wild.
- subsp. incerta De Wild.
- subsp. lebrunii (L.Touss.) M.O.Soladoye
- Baphia leptostemma Baillon
- subsp. gracilipes (Harms) M.O.Soladoye
- var. gracilipes (Harms) M.O.Soladoye
- var. conraui (Harms) M.O.Soladoye
- subsp. leptostemma Baillon
- Baphia preussii Harms
- Baphia obanensis Baker f.
- Baphia wollastonii Baker f.
Series Spathaceae M.O.Soladoye
- Baphia eriocalyx Harms
- Baphia spathacea Hook.f.
- subsp. polyantha (Harms) M.O.Soladoye
- subsp. spathacea Hook.f.
Section Bracteolaria (Hochst.) Benth.
- Baphia aurivellera Taubert
- Baphia capparidifolia Baker
- subsp. bangweolensis (R.E.Fries) Brummitt
- subsp. capparidifolia Baker
- subsp. multiflora (Harms) Brummitt
- subsp. polygalacea Brummitt
- Baphia dubia De Wild.
- Baphia heudelotiana Baillon
- Baphia kirkii Baker
- subsp. kirkii Baker
- subsp. ovata (Sim) M.O.Soladoye
- Baphia laurentii De Wild.
Section Longibracteolatae (Lester-Garland) M.O.Soladoye
Series Chrysophyllae M.O.Soladoye
- Baphia burttii Baker f.
- Baphia chrysophylla Taubert
- subsp. chrysophylla Taubert
- subsp. claessensii (De Wild.) Brummitt
- Baphia cuspidata Taubert
- Baphia massaiensis Taubert
- subsp. busseana (Harms) M.O.Soladoye
- subsp. floribunda Brummitt
- subsp. gomesii (Baker f.) Brummitt
- subsp. massaiensis Taubert
- subsp. obovata (Schinz) Brummitt
- var. cornifolia (Harms) M.O.Soladoye
- var. obovata (Schinz) M.O.Soladoye
- var. whitei (Brummitt) M.O.Soladoye
- Baphia speciosa J.B.Gillett & Brummitt
Series Macranthae M.O.Soladoye
- Baphia bequaertii De Wild.
- Baphia letestui Pellegrin
- Baphia maxima Baker
Series Striatae (Lester Garland) M.O.Soladoye
- Baphia leptobotrys Harms
- subsp. leptobotrys Harms
- subsp. silvatica (Harms) M.O.Soladoye
- Baphia pilosa Baillon
- subsp. batangensis (Harms) M.O.Soladoye
- subsp. pilosa Baillon
Section Macrobaphia Harms emend. M.O.Soladoye
Incertae sedis
- Baphia cymosa Breteler
- Baphia madagascariensis (A.Heller) A.Heller
The status of the following species is unresolved:[12]
- Baphia glauca A. Chev.
- Baphia longepetiolata Taub.
- Baphia madagascariensis C.H. Stirt. & Du Puy
- Baphia megaphylla Breteler
- Baphia radcliffei Baker f.
In 2023, a new species, Baphia arenicola was discovered growing in the deep sandy highland region of central Angola, part of the Kalahari sands, and was formally described to science. The floral characters most morphologically similar to Baphia massaiensis but with certain characters also comparable to Baphia bequaertii, with all three species found growing in the same region. Preliminary molecular analysis places the new taxon close to Baphia bequaertii. Whilst most Baphia form above ground shrubs and trees, Baphia arenicola grows as a geoxylic suffrutex (often described as "underground trees") with most of its woody tissue growing buried deep within the sand and its flowering parts just above ground level.[13][14]
Pooley E. (1997). Trees of Natal, Zululand and Transkei. Durban: Natal Flora Publications Trust. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-620-17697-2.
Polhill RM (1981). "Sophoreae". In Polhill RM, Raven PH (eds.). Advances in Legume Systematics, Part 1. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. pp. 213–230. ISBN 9780855212247. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
Cardoso D, de Queiroz LP, Pennington RT, de Lima HC, Fonty É, Wojciechowski MF, Lavin M (2012). "Revisiting the phylogeny of papilionoid legumes: New insights from comprehensively sampled early-branching lineages". Am J Bot. 99 (12): 1991–2013. doi:10.3732/ajb.1200380. PMID 23221500.
Goyder, David J.; Davies, Nina; Finckh, Manfred; Gomes, Amândio; Gonçalves, Francisco Maiato P.; Meller, Paulina; Paton, Alan J. (2023-09-20). "New species of Asclepias (Apocynaceae), Baphia (Leguminosae), Cochlospermum (Bixaceae) and Endostemon (Lamiaceae) from the Kalahari sands of Angola and NW Zambia, with one new combination in Vangueria (Rubiaceae)". PhytoKeys (232): 145–166. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.232.110110. ISSN 1314-2003. PMC 10534249. PMID 37780180.
- Data related to Baphia at Wikispecies