The species was first formally described by English botanist
James Smith in 1797 in
Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, and given the name
Metrosideos capitata. In 1846,
Gustav Heynhold transferred the species to
Kunzea as
K. capitata. The
specific epithet (
capitata) is derived from the Latin word
caput meaning 'head', alluding to the arrangement of the flowers. ==Distribution and habitat==