Richard Graves MacDonnell
The species was first formally described by botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1859. The description was published in "Report on the Plants Collected During Mr. Babbage's Expedition into the North West Interior of South Australia in 1858". Mueller described it as "the most ornamental discovered during Mr. Babbage's expedition". The specific epithet ("macdonnellii") honours Richard Graves MacDonnell, Governor of South Australia from 1855 to 1862.