This daisy was first formally described in 1837 by George Bentham who gave it the name Eurybia rudis in Enumeratio plantarum quas in Novae Hollandiae ora austro-occidentali ad fluvium Cygnorum et in sinu Regis Georgii collegit Carolus Liber Baro de Hügel from specimens collected near the Swan River. In 1867, Bentham changed the name to Olearia rudis in Flora Australiensis. The specific epithet (rudis) means "rough" or "wild".
