It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic Pterocarpus clade within the Dalbergieae.

[2][3] Most species of Pterocarpus yield valuable timber traded as padauk (or padouk), usually pronounced /pəˈduːk/ or /ˈpædˌoʊk/;[4] other common names are mukwa or narra.

[8] The scientific name is Latinized Ancient Greek and means "wing fruit", referring to the unusual shape of the seed pods in this genus.

Some padauks, e.g. P. soyauxii, are used as herbal medicines, for example to treat skin parasites and fungal infections.

[12] A total of 35 species is currently accepted:[13][14] Media related to Pterocarpus at Wikimedia Commons