Stipules are up to 12 mm long, initially fused into a tube that encloses the leaf bud—they then split along one side as the bud grows.

[5][6][7][8] This species was first described as Gardenia ochreata in 1858 by the botanist Ferdinand von Mueller, based on material collected from the Burdekin River.

[6][7] Two other botanists also described specimens of this plant, giving them names that are now recognised as synonyms of this taxon, i.e. G. macgillivraei (George Bentham, 1867) and G. kershawii (Frederick Manson Bailey, 1914).

[4] The genus name Larsenaikia is an anagram of Kailarsenia, which in turn was created by Tirvengadum to honour the Danish botanist Kai Larsen.

The species epithet ochreata is derived from the Latin ocrea, (sheath), referring to the stipules that fully enclose the leaf buds.