The type specimen of this species was collected early in the 19th century by
James Drummond, from the vicinity of the
Swan River. The species was not described, however, until 1921, when
Dorothy Kate Hughes published it as
Stipa variabilis. This was its name until 1996, when the Australian species of
Stipa were recognised as meriting their own genus. Thus
Austrostipa was erected, and this and other species transferred into it. ==References==