 It was first formally described by Carl Ludwig Willdenow in 1805.It was again described by Olof Swartz just two years later in 1807 under the same name.Around the same time, other botanists were considering placing these new species in the new genus "Candollea", which would be in the family Dilleniaceae, but "Stylidium" was retained as the older nomenclature and placed in its own family, Stylidiaceae.