G. M. Plunkett & A. N. Nicolas was published in 1843 as Aralia polaris by French naturalist Jacques Bernard Hombron and Dutch botanist Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin.
The original description of the species was provided by Joseph Dalton Hooker in his Flora Antarctica in 1844.
Finally, in 2016, American botanists Gregory Plunkett and Antoine Nicolas transferred the species to the genus Azorella.
The numerous flowers are about 5 mm wide, with waxy, yellow petals with a purple base.
[13] It is classified as "At Risk - Naturally Uncommon" in the New Zealand threatened plants classification system, with the qualifiers CD (Conservation Dependent), PD (Partial Decline), RR (Range Restricted), SO (Secure Overseas).
[14][15] Azorella polaris is extremely palatable and vulnerable to several introduced mammals to the subantarctic islands.
[18] On Macquarie Island, the species was threatened by introduced black rats and European rabbits,[7] until their eradication in 2011.