There is conflicting data concerning its discoverer, though that title is usually attributed to padre Hammerschmid. Despite that, the species was actually found by another monk - padre Klingler (10.12.1905 - 10.09.1995).

The Franciscan padre Justinian Lorenzo Hammerschmid (27.06.1914 - 17.06.1970) was acting as professor of natural sciences at the grammar school of San Ignacio de Valesco in Bolivia. He stood in friendly relations with Dr. Martin Cardenas, professor for botany at Cochabamba university. Cardenas encouraged his friend to collect cacti. He collected many plants during his visits to the natives and travels to remote areas. Of the collected cacti, padre Hammerschmid sent plants to Prof. Dr. Cardenas and the cacti nursery Uhlig in Germany. Cardenes and Backeberg, who received the plants via Uhlig's company, quickly recognized that this had to be a new species. Backeberg described the plants as G. hammerschmidii. His description is nomenclaturally invalid (Art. 8.2), becasue he neglected to deposit a herbarium sample. Cardenas published his own description two month prior to Backeberg.

The plants are named after the Bolivian province of Chiquitos.