[1] It is endemic to the Desventuradas Islands in the South Pacific, part of Chile.

The species was first described in 1870 by Rodolfo Amando Philippi as Rea lacerata.

[5] In 1875, his son, Federico Philippi, transferred it to his new genus Thamnoseris as T. lacerata,[6][7] where it was the sole species.

In 1885, William Hemsley transferred it to the genus Dendroseris as D. lacerata.

[1] In 2012, based on molecular phylogenetic evidence, it was shown that Dendroseris was embedded within the genus Sonchus, and all its species were transferred to that genus, being placed in Sonchus subg.