The plant was first described in 1966, after a single tree with a few seedlings was discovered on Tahuata, an island in the Marquesas group of French Polynesia that had been severely deforested by livestock: cattle, goats, horses, and pigs.
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Further specimens were later found on the nearby island of Mohotani, uninhabited by humans, but similarly deforested by sheep, who fortunately seem to avoid eating the plant.