Australian botanist Charles Moore described "Ficus columnaris" in 1870 from material collected from Lord Howe Island, choosing the species name from the Latin "columnaris" for the column-like roots. English botanist E. J. H. Corner reduced this to synonymy with "F. macrophylla" in 1965, before P. S. Green noted it was distinct enough for subspecies status in 1986. Australian botanist Dale J. Dixon reviewed material and felt the differences too minor to warrant subspecific status, and recognised two forms: "Ficus macrophylla" f. "macrophylla", a free-standing tree endemic to mainland Australia; and "Ficus macrophylla" f. "columnaris", a hemiepiphyte lacking a distinct main trunk and endemic to Lord Howe Island. Review of "F. magnolioides" by Silvio Fici and Francesco Maria Raimondo found that it was "F. macrophylla" f. "columnaris".