This member of the Rubiaceae family was given this name by Camilla Rose Huxley and Matthew H. P. Jebb in 2019.  It is found on the Waigeo Island in Western New Guinea; Indonesia, growing as an epiphyte with lots of water and some to lots of sun. The caudex can grow from ten to 20 centimetres in diameter, the entire plant might  grow to 40 centimetres in height. The flowers are white while the fruits are red.

The genera name after Greek hydnon meaning 'tuber' and phyton meaning 'plant', after the swollen branches. The species is named because it is only taxon where the tuber comprises multiple separate parts.