This species is widespread and morphologically somewhat variable, and potentially includes more than one species. It has the characters of Stenostomum but is distinctive in its very slender inflorescence axes and slender rather small corollas. 

Guettarda ulei was considered a synonym also of this name, (Taylor et al., 2004) but Delprete et al. (2010) clarified the confusions around the type and identity of this name. Specimens labelled with its type number are a mixed collection, and photos distributed of the purported type showed the wrong specimen. They transferred this name as Chomelia ulei, for more information see the web page for that species.