[1][2] The broad-leaved pepperbush was first formally described in 1937 by Joyce Vickery who gave it the name Drimys purpurascens and published the description in Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales.

[3][4] In 1969, Albert Smith transferred the species to Tasmannia based on its chromosome number of 13, compared to 43 in most others in Drimys.

Tasmannia purpurascens grows in forests with Antarctic beech and eucalypt species, at altitudes of 1,200–1,520 m (4,000–5,000 ft).

It is abundant in the Ben Halls Gap and Barrington Tops National Parks, growing where it sometimes snows and where frosts are common in winter.

[1][2] Tasmannia purpurascens was previously listed as "Vulnerable" under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 but was delisted in 2013.