It was cultivated in England in the 17th century, and the name C. lusitanica was given by Philip Miller, the curator of the Chelsea Physick garden, in 1768, in reference to its supposed Portuguese origin.
It was cultivated in the Chelsea Physick Garden in 1752, and was believed to have been sent to Europe by French missionaries.
It was Sloane who gave to the Apothecaries' Company the ground which they had leased in 1673 for the Physick Garden, which is still extant, but ceased in 1902 to be maintained by the Company.