[3] The evergreen leaves are pinnately divided, and yellow flowers are borne on a panicle.

[5] Chamaedorea seifrizii was described in 1938 by German botanist Max Burret based on a type specimen collected near Chichén Itzá in Mexico.

Burret named the species in honour of William Seifriz, the collector of the type material.

The holotype has since been lost, but a neotype was designated by Donald R. Hodel in 1992 and is now stored in the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium.

[5] Referred to as xate, xiat, or chiat in Mayan, C. seifrizii was cultivated by the Maya people in the pre-Columbian era as an ornamental plant and possibly for religious purposes, often being planted around villages and temples.