[3] The genus has three species, all endemic to the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa.

[4] They are shrubs that grow to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall, with tiny flowers and slender, leathery leaves.

Grubbia was named by Peter Jonas Bergius in 1767 in a Swedish journal entitled Kongliga Vetenskaps Academiens Handlingar.

[6] The generic name honors the Swedish botanist Michael Grubb.

Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that Grubbia is sister to Curtisia, another genus from South Africa.