 The genus "Philotheca" was first formally described in 1816 by Edward Rudge from a specimen collected near Port Jackson and the description was published in "Transactions of the Linnean Society of London".The first species Rudge described was "P. australis" but this name is considered a nomen illegitimum and a taxonomic synonym of "Philotheca salsolifolia" by the Australian Plant Census.The name "Philotheca" should have been written "Psilotheca" after the Ancient Greek words "psilos" meaning "bare", "smooth", "bald" or "naked" and "theke" meaning "case", "container", "envelope" or "sheath", referring to "the smooth tube of the stamens".