The first description as
Cereus euphorbioides was in 1819 by Adrian Hardy Haworth. The specific epithet euphorbioides is derived from the Greek word -oides for 'similar' and the genus 'Euphorbia'. Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose placed the species in the genus
Cephalocereus in 1920. Further
nomenclature synonyms are
Cactus euphorbioides (Haw.) Spreng. (1825),
Pilocereus euphorbioides (Haw.) Rümpler (1886),
Lemaireocereus euphorbioides (Haw.) Werderm. (1934),
Carnegiea euphorbioides (Haw.) Backeb. (1944),
Neobuxbaumia euphorbioides (Haw.) Buxb. (1954),
Neodawsonia euphorbioides (Haw.) Buxb. (1957) and
Rooksbya euphorbioides (Haw.) Backeb. (1960). == References ==