 This name was created in 1820 by Alexandre de Cassini  for a plant that had been named "Arnica inuloides"  by Martin Vahl in 1791.One year after transferring this species to "Heterolepis", Cassini changed the specific epithet, thus creating the superfluous combination "Heterolepis decipiens" in 1821.The relationships of "Heterolepis" to other genera in Asteraceae are not well understood.