[3] Kraenzlin's description was based on a type specimen collected by fellow German botanist Andreas Schimper, who visited the Seychelles in 1898 as a member of the Valdivia expedition.

[5] English botanist Robert Allen Rolfe would posthumously describe this species in 1922 under the name Microstylis thomassetii based on type material collected in 1901.

[6] Fellow English botanist V. S. Summerhayes listed Rolfe's name as a junior synonym of Microstylis seychellarum in 1931, and would later transfer this species to the genus Malaxis in 1953.

[4] M. seychellarum is restricted to the islands of Mahé and Silhouette in the Seychelles, where it occurs in montane forests dominated by Dillenia and Northea trees at altitudes of 400–750 m (1,310–2,460 ft).

M. seychellarum is present within protected national parks, however, invasive species and climate change threaten its habitat.