 The type specimen was collected near Hamelin Pool in 1966 by Eleanor Marion Scrymgeour and Maisie Carr.The specific epithet ("roycei") honours Robert Dunlop Royce who was a member of the staff of the Western Australian Herbarium.Shark Bay mallee is found on sand plains in the Gascoyne region centred around Shark Bay where it grows in red calcareous sandy soils.