[citation needed] The type specimen and seed was collected in the Illawarra district and described (in 1833) by the explorer Allan Cunningham as Marsdenia flavescens.

[4][1] According to the text[1] by William Jackson Hooker, these plants were grown at Kew Gardens in London.

"Mr. ALLAN CUNNINGHAM, who found it in New Holland, on the sea-shore at the Illawana district, in lat.

In a 2021 revision of Marsdenia, Paul Forster reassigned the species to the genus, Leichhardtia to give the currently accepted name.

[5][6] The specific epithet flavescens is from Latin, and it refers to the pale yellow flowers.