Nepenthes is a genus of 130-160 species, almost half of which were described after 2001. The recent, rapid increase in species descriptions has been driven by application of a less rigorous species concept by botanists, taxonomic inflation, and discoveries of new taxa during explorations of remote parts of Southeast Asia. Many recently published species descriptions of Nepenthes are based entirely upon qualitative morphological information and are not supported by adequate research. Accordingly, the status of many Nepenthes taxa is contested. Evolution within the genus is not well understood, because nuclear and maternally inherited plastid genomes cannot resolve relationships between many species, particularly those that evolved recently through introgression or reticulate evolution. Improvement in our understanding of the systematics and evolution of Nepenthes requires the adoption of ‘best practice’ collection and preservation methods, and the application of quantitative analytical methods for morphological, genetic, and ecological information.