The genus Dalbergia includes approximately 250 species worldwide. Of these, 58 species are of economic importance and listed under CITES. Identification of illegal transnational timber trade is a challenge because logs or boards lack the typical descriptors used for species identification such as leaves and flowers; therefore, frequently the lowest taxonomic determination of these tree byproducts is genus. This study explores the use of Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART) Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (TOFMS) in making species determinations of protected Dalbergia trees from Africa, Madagascar, and Asia.
