The dalbergioids are an early-branching monophyletic clade of the flowering plant subfamily Faboideae or Papilionaceae.

They are pantropical, particularly being found in the neotropics and sub-Saharan Africa.

[5] This clade is consistently resolved as monophyletic in molecular phylogenetic analyses.

[2][3][4][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] It is estimated to have arisen 55.3 ± 0.5 million years ago (in the Eocene).

[9] A node-based definition for the dalbergioids is: "The least inclusive crown clade that contains Amorpha fruticosa L. 1753 and Dalbergia sissoo Roxb.