Dalbergia is a large genus of small to medium-size trees, shrubs and lianas in the pea family, Fabaceae. The genus has a wide distribution, native to the tropical regions of Central and South America, Africa, Madagascar and southern Asia. They are often used as a subject for the art of bonsai.

Dalbergia armata commonly known as Bobbejaantou or Doringtou in English and Monkey Rope, Hluhluwe creeper or Thorny Rope in English is a South African indigenous species found in the KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces. It is a scrambling, deciduous species of legume that is native to subtropical to temperate regions of south-eastern Africa. The robust, woody climber or small tree is armed with strong spines on the main stem and branches. It occurs sparsely or commonly in forest, bush, riparian fringes and in wooded ravines. It is sometimes employed as a bonsai subject, and it can be propagated from either seed or cuttings. Their thick (up to 15 cm) and 10 to 30 m long ropes have sturdy, sideways-directed spines which may grow in clusters, and encircle the stems. The spines which are up to 10 cm long, hook onto adjacent vegetation to direct the plant towards the canopy. The bark is dark greyish-brown. The alternate leaves are up to 8 cm long, finely compound and are bluish-green on their upper surfaces. The 21 to 41 oblong leaflets (i.e. 10 to 20 pairs plus terminal) have a sub-opposite or alternate arrangement. The leaflets close in overcast weather, and the foliage is popular with browsing animals. Their very small, sweetly-scented flowers are creamy-white in colour. They appear in early summer, and are born in dense terminal or axillary clusters.