 The German botanist Ludwig Preiss collected more than 2,000 species of plants whilst living in Western Australia, including those named "V. endlicheriana", "V. habrantha" and "V. lehmannii" by Schauer in 1843.In 1991, Alex George undertook a review of the genus and described 84 new species, subspecies, and varieties.All were grouped into three subgenera and twenty-four sections.