 The name became better known from J. D. Hooker's 1864 publication in "Handbook of the New Zealand Flora".However, previously, in 1848, Auguste François Le Jolis had described the species under the name "P. cookianum", and for many years this name was thought to have priority over Hooker's name "P. colensoi".The latter is now regarded as the accepted name, based on a brief description of the species in a quotation from J.D.