[2] The sole species in the genus, Stockwellia quadrifida (commonly known as Vic Stockwell's puzzle), is endemic to Queensland.

[2] This species first became known to botanical science in 1971, when Atherton resident Keith Gould began experimenting with aerial photography as a means of forestry interpretation.

Some of his photos appeared to show a large group of emergent trees in a small patch of rainforest near Topaz, and he referred them to Victor (Vic) Stockwell who was Queensland Forestry's ranger responsible for managing timber harvesting in that area.

[6][7] Despite Stockwell's vast experience in forestry he was unable to identify the trees from the photos, and so the two men ventured on foot into the forest to find them.

It quickly aroused interest in botanical circles and became known colloquially as "Vic Stockwell's Puzzle", and was even mentioned in a scientific paper as Stockwellia long before a formal description and name was published.

In the 2002 paper that formally describes S. quadrifida, the authors stated that despite its restricted range the only threat to the species is predation of the seeds by sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita).