It has been effectively exterminated on the slopes of Table Mountain where it has been felled for timber and replaced by invasive pine plantations.

The wood is dark walnut or reddish brown to black with a yellow sap-wood, and the grain extremely fine, close, dense and smooth.

It is one of the most popular plants traded for traditional medicine in South Africa, mainly for its perceived effectiveness in treating urinary diseases.

Ocotea bullata can be attacked by the fungus-like pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi, which causes dieback.

Trees are more prone to attack in areas of indigenous forest that have been disturbed for commercial purposes.