It includes five species of trees or shrubs native to west and west-central Africa.

They grow in tropical lowland Guineo-Congolian rain forest, often along rivers, on rocky banks, or on hillsides.

Four species are limited to Cameroon, Gabon, and Republic of the Congo in west-central Africa.

Plagiosiphon emarginatus also grows in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa.

[1] Species accepted by the Plants of the World Online as of September 2023:[1] This Detarioideae-related article is a stub.