An upper pitcher of N. densiflora from Mount Kemiri, Gunung Leuser National Park. This form of the species is unusual in producing partly cylindrical upper pitchers.
In 2001, Charles Clarke performed a cladistic analysis of the Nepenthes species of Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia using 70 morphological characteristics of each taxon. The following is part of the resultant cladogram, showing "Clade 3", which comprises N. densiflora and three other related species.[7]
^(in Indonesian) Tamin, R. & M. Hotta 1986. Nepenthes di Sumatera: The genus Nepenthes of the Sumatra Island. In: M. Hotta (ed.) Diversity and Dynamics of Plant Life in Sumatra: Forest Ecosystem and Speciation in Wet Tropical Environments. Part 1: Reports and Collection of Papers. Kyoto University, Kyoto. pp. 75–109.
Bauer, U., C.J. Clemente, T. Renner & W. Federle 2012. Form follows function: morphological diversification and alternative trapping strategies in carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plants. Journal of Evolutionary Biology25(1): 90–102. doi:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02406.x
Meimberg, H., A. Wistuba, P. Dittrich & G. Heubl 2001. Molecular phylogeny of Nepenthaceae based on cladistic analysis of plastid trnK intron sequence data. Plant Biology3(2): 164–175. doi:10.1055/s-2001-12897
Meimberg, H. & G. Heubl 2006. Introduction of a nuclear marker for phylogenetic analysis of Nepenthaceae. Plant Biology8(6): 831–840. doi:10.1055/s-2006-924676
Meimberg, H., S. Thalhammer, A. Brachmann & G. Heubl 2006. Comparative analysis of a translocated copy of the trnK intron in carnivorous family Nepenthaceae. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution39(2): 478–490. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.11.023
Whitten, T., S.J. Damanik, J. Anwar & N. Hisyam 2000. The Ecology of Sumatra. Periplus Editions, Hong Kong.