Description:

• Trees, sometimes strongly scandent or woody lianes, sometimes with branches modified as spines or climbing aids
• Leaves imparipinnate, few- to many-jugate, rarely 1-foliolate; stipules various, small and usually caducous
• Flowers small, white to yellowish cream-coloured, sometimes fragrant, often many, in axillary or terminal, dichotomous cymes or subcorymbose panicles, bracteate
• Calyx with campanulate tube, shortly 5-lobed; 2 upper lobes often broader and 3 lower longer and narrower than others
• Petals: vexillum usually emarginate, clawed; wings shortly clawed; keel often eared, clawed
• Stamens monadelphous or diadelphous or splitting into 2 bundles, sometimes vexillary stamen 0; anthers uniform, small, erect, didymous, opening at apex or rarely longitudinally
• Ovary stalked, 1-few-ovuled, sometimes hairy; style short, incurved, with small, terminal stigma
• Pod oblong or linear, usually compressed, sometimes thickened over seed cavity, indehiscent
• Seeds 1-4, flattish, subreniform
• x = 10

Nomenclature:

• Dalbergia L.f.
  • Linnaeus f.: 52 (1782; '1781') name conserved
  • Harvey: 264 (1862)
  • Polhill: 95 (1971)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Species ± 100, pantropical in warm regions
• Southern Africa: Species 7, Namibia, Botswana, the four northern provinces, Swaziland, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape