Hedyotis scabridifolia is an herb or small shrub that is endemic to the volcanic soils of the Mariana Islands of Guam, Rota and Saipan.

[1] The taxonomic key to Micronesian Hedyotis species provided by Fosberg et al. indicates that the distinguishing characteristic of Hedyotis scabridifolia is the "distal branching of thyrses," which are ascending and racemiform.

scabridifolia (synonym: Hedyotis saipanensis[3]) is endemic to Saipan and distinguished by the whole plant being puberulent (covered in small hairs).

stonei, found on Guam and Rota in savannas and disturbed sites, is distinguished by its stems and leaves being glabrous, or smooth.

[4] Hedyotis scabridifolia was first described in 1935 by Japanese botanist, Ryōzō Kanehira, in the journal Transactions, Natural History Society of Formosa.