Convergent evolution in arid environments is thought to be responsible for widespread homoplasy in the morphological characters traditionally used to classify it and the segregate genera that have sometimes been recognized.

On the basis of molecular evidence, Amanda Grusz and Michael D. Windham revived the genus Myriopteris in 2013 for a group of species formerly placed in Cheilanthes.

[3] In 2018, Maarten J. M. Christenhusz transferred the species to Hemionitis as H. myriophylla as part of a program to consolidate the cheilanthoid ferns into that genus.

Members of the "core covillei" clade, including M. myriophylla, have leaves finely divided into bead-like segments.

Within this clade, M. myriophylla is part of a subclade including M. chipinquensis, M. jamaicensis, M. rufa, M. tomentosa, and M. windhamii, most of which are apogamous.