the name "leucospermum truncatum" was first used in 1843 by heinrich wilhelm buek for a specimen that was collected by johann franz drège in august 1831, just east of cape agulhas on a limestone hill. he however failed to add a description, and therefore "l. truncatum" is a nomen nudum. in 1856, carl meissner used buek's epithet for "leucospermum zeyheri" var. "truncatum", adding the necessary description in latin. otto kuntze moved "truncatum" in 1891 to "leucadendron". john patrick rourke in 1967, raised meissner's variety to a separate species and made the new combination "leucospermum truncatum".