 Meanwhile, Joseph Dalton Hooker described "M. corallipes" from a plate in 1872.For many years, the name "M. spiralis" was applied to the large common cycad from the Sydney region, while its smaller relative was known as "M. corallipes".In 1959, New South Wales Herbarium botanist Lawrie Johnson examined the species descriptions and determined that Salisbury's original description was in fact of the smaller species, and renamed the familiar burrawang as "Macrozamia communis".