The large-fruited yellowjacket was first formally described in 1877 by Ferdinand von Mueller who gave it the name Eucalyptus watsonianain his book Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae. The specific epithet honours "Th. Wentworth Watson" who collected the type specimens near Wigton. In 1995, Ken Hill and Lawrie Johnson changed the name to Corymbia watsoniana, publishing the change in the journal Telopea.
