It includes 87 species native to the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, Malesia, Taiwan, Papuasia, Queensland, and the South Pacific.

[1] The genus Semecarpus was erected by Carl Linnaeus the Younger in 1782 in Supplementum Plantarum.

[3] The gender of the genus name has been the subject of some confusion.

[4] However, Example 3 of Article 62 of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants states that all compounds ending in the Greek masculine ‑carpos or ‑carpus are masculine.

[6] As of June 2022[update], Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:[1]