According to a U.C. Berkeley herbarium record, what became the holotype for Synchytrium salviae was collected in 1932 in northwestern California and placed with the herbarium. The host was Soliva sessilis, but the host was misspelled as "Salvia" sessilis, and the fungus mis-identified as Synchytrium aureum. The UC Berkeley herbarium indicates that the host name "Salvia" was a misspelling for "Soliva."

Rejecting the identification of the fungus, but misled by erroneous identification of the host as "Salvia" on the herbarium specimen, J.S. Karling described the misidentified fungus as a new species, Synchytrium salviae, but listed its host as "Salvia" sessilis, in his 1956 article, "New and unidentified species of Synchytrium. I."