Gymnanthemum means ‘naked flower’, from the Greek gymnos. meaning ‘naked’ and anthemon meaning ‘flower’. The specific epithet, myrianthum, is derived from Greek murioi, meaning ‘many’ and anthemon, ‘a flower’, referring to the multitude of flowers this plant bears.

Gymnanthemum myrianthum was until recently known as Vernonia myriantha. Vernonia was a very large genus of over 1 000 species of annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees. Occurring in America, Africa, Asia, Madagascar and Australia, with approximately 40 species in southern Africa, widespread throughout South African provinces, but absent in the Western Cape. Some of these species are edible and have economic value, and they are all known for their deep purple flowers. This genus is named for the English botanist, William Vernon, who collected many plants in America and who died in 1711. There were numerous distinct subgenera and subsections in Vernonia, which led botanists to divide this large genus into several distinct genera. Most of the South African vernonias are now classified in the genera Gymnanthemum, Hillardiella, Linzia, Vernonella, Vernoniastrum, Baccharoides, Distephanus, Orbivestus, Cyanthillium, Pegolettia, Erlangea, Pleiotaxus and Polydora, but many are still known as ‘vernonia’ and keep their former botanical name in their common names.

There are many other very attractive South African vernonias which deserve more horticultural attention, including the silvery leaved Hilliardiella aristata (= Vernonia natalensis), Hilliardiella oligocephala (= Vernonia oligocephala) with bicoloured leaves, the climbing and scrambling Gymnanthemum mespilifolium (= Vernonia mespilifolia) and the upright perennial Linzia glabra (= Vernonia glabra), which is widely used in the mixed herbaceous borders in Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden.