Belongs to the monotypic genus; Subfamily: Dombeyoideae.

Shrubs or small trees with glaucescent stems. Leaves alternate, simple. Flowers hermaphroditic, solitary. Fruits: capsule, ovoid-oblong to almost cylindrical, dehiscent; seeds numerous per locule, with an apical ring in the form of a wing.

Hafotra differs from other genera of the subfamily Dombeyoideae by its hyaline, stinging or irritating star-shaped hairs; its tubular androecium and its seeds. Phylogenetically, H. superba forms a separate clade, sister to the Eriolaena clade (Dorr & Wurdack, 2021).

Dombeya is a source of fiber for ropes making (http1).