Matthew Jebb and Martin Cheek recognised the following three nothospecies in their monographs on the genus ("A skeletal revision of Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae)" (1997) and "Nepenthaceae" (2001)). In the recent literature, these taxa have generally been treated as natural hybrids rather than as species. Of the three, N. × kinabaluensis has the strongest claim to species status, as it grows in two large, self-sustaining populations independent of its putative parent species.Jebb, M. 1994. NEPENTHES revision for Flora Malesiana. Carnivorous Plant Mailing List, September 9, 1994. These populations are reportedly true breeding. Jumaat Haji Adam and C. C. Wilcock advocated the recognition of N. × kinabaluensis as a species in a 1998 article.Adam, J.H. & C.C. Wilcock 1998 ['1996']. Pitcher plants of Mt. Kinabalu in Sabah. The Sarawak Museum Journal 50(71): 145–171.
