Kunth named the genus in honour of the horticulturalist Louis Claude Noisette (1772–1849). Candolle (1824) recognised three species, considering Kunth's "N. frangulaefolia" to be a synonym of "N. longifolia";   of which "N. longifolia" is considered a synonym of "N. orchidiflora", and only the latter is accepted by Plants of the World Online, while "N. acuminata" is classified as "ambiguous" (unable to reliably identify taxon). Most authors consider "Noisettia" to be monotypic for "N. orchidiflora". "N. orchidiflora" has a large number of other synonyms. "Noisettia orchidoflora" was first described by Rudge in 1805. Rudge believing it to be a species of Viola, gave it the name of "Viola orchidoflora", observing that the enlarged lower petal resembled that of an orchid. With the separation of "Noisettia" from "Viola" by Kunth in 1821, Gingins (1823) considered Kunth's original "N. frangulaefolia", as "N. longifolia". Humid coastal forests of Northern and eastern South America, including North, Northeast, South and Southeast Brazil, French Guiana, Peru, and Suriname. (see Map, at "Plants of The World Online").