Tony Druce collected this specimen in the Kaimanawa Mountains, south-east of Imjin Camp, in 1974. The grass Trisetum drucei was named after Druce, in recognition of his contribution to the study of the Trisetum genus. When botanist Elizabeth Edgar reviewed the genus, 65 of the 73 herbarium specimens used were collected by Druce. As was his habit, Druce had recognised this and other species in the genus as a species but given them tag names – he called Trisetum drucei ‘cliff’. Edgar accepted most of Druce’s species proposals in her paper.