A parsimony analysis of ndhF nucleotide sequences representing 24 species and 13 genera of Sterculioideae strongly supports (100% bootstrap) the monophyly of the group. Within the Sterculioideae clade four major clades are recognized with good bootstrap support but relationships among them are not resolved. This analysis suggests the recognition of Argyrodendron as separate from Heritiera, supports Acropogon as separate from Sterculia, and Tarrietia as part of Heritiera. The current circumscriptions of Hildegardia and Firmiana are not supported. The use of fruit characters in the delimitation of genera within Sterculioideae may not be appropriate in some cases and other morphological characters need to be found.