 de Candolle  when he assigned "Hoplophyllum spinosum" to this genus in his classic work Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis.This species had originally been named "Pteronia spinosa" by Linnaeus filius in 1782 in his book "Supplementum Plantarum".The closest relative of "Hoplophyllum" is "Eremothamnus", another native of southern Africa.