 In 1961 Helen K. Sharsmith produced a definitive study of "Hesperolinon", with the result that this taxon clearly merited genus standing; moreover, she also returned Marin Dwarf Flax, "H. congestum" to species status.Collection and recognition of the species was made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by botanical pioneers W.L.Jepson, Alice Eastwood and Katharine Brandegee.