See text 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.

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.