Maxwellia lepidota is a species of shrubs or trees in the family Malvaceae.

It is endemic to New Caledonia and the only species of the monotypic genus Maxwellia.

[1] Its closest relatives are all Australian genera in tribe Lasiopetaleae: Guichenotia, Hannafordia, Lysiosepalum, Lasiopetalum and Thomasia.

[2] The genus name of Maxwellia is in honour of Maxwell T. Masters (1833–1907), an English botanist and taxonomist.

[3] The Latin specific epithet of lepidota refers to the Greek word lepidotus' meaning scaly.