Eremurus × isabellinus is a hybrid of garden origin, derived from the crossing of E. stenophyllus with E. olgae. The first crossing was made by Sir Michael Foster at Great Shelford, England, at the end of the 19th century, and replicated in France by the Vilmorin nursery at Verrières-le-Buisson in 1902. The name of the hybrid is derived from the isabelline colour of the original F1 hybrid flowers. The genus is often known by the common names foxtail lily and desert candle.