[10][11] In 1885, in his treatment for Flora brasiliensis, Alfred Cogniaux used a broad concept of the genus, transferring into it many of the species at that time placed in Chaetogastra, Diplostegium, Lasiandra, Pleroma and Purpurella, among others.

[9] A phylogenetic analysis in 2013 based on molecular data (2 plastid and 1 nuclear regions) determined that the traditional circumscription of Tibouchina was paraphyletic.

Four major clades were resolved within the genus which were supported by morphological, molecular and geographic evidence.

It reached the same conclusion: the original broadly circumscribed Tibouchina consisted of four monophyletic clades.

[10] As of May 2022[update], Plants of the World Online accepts the following species within Tibouchina:[1] Species placed in Tibouchina in its former broad sense include: All the species of Tibouchina are native to the Americas as far north as Mexico south to northern Argentina,[1] with many found in Brazil,[4] and others in Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.

[1] Members of Tibouchina tend to be found in lowland savannas and on the lower slopes of the Andes.