[5][7] The species was first formally described by the botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1859 in the work Monograph of the Eucalypti of tropical Australia as published in the Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Botany.

[6] The species name is derived from ancient Greek and means "tooth-fruited" and refers to the four teeth found around the rim of the fruit.

[5] It is found on rocky scree slopes and plateaux,[4] sand plains and hills in the Pilbara, Kimberley and northern Goldfields regions of Western Australia where it grows in red sandy-loamy soils.

[10] In the Pilbara of Western Australia it is found in low tree woodlands with Corymbia hamersleyana over Acacia tumida var.

pilbarensis shrubland with Templetonia hookeri and Acacia adoxa over Triodia epactia hummock grasses.