1859年，约瑟夫·道尔顿·胡克正式描述[注 1]了爱德华猪笼草。[1]胡克应朋友休·洛的请求，以纳闽直辖殖民地总督乔治·爱德华（George Edwards）的名字命名了这个物种。[5][注 2]胡克原描述和插图转载于斯宾塞·圣约翰1862年出版的著作《远东森林生活》（Life in the Forests of the Far East）中。[9]斯宾塞·圣约翰对产于基纳巴卢山的爱德华猪笼草这样写道：[注 3][9]
1908年，约翰·缪尔黑德·麦克法兰在专著《猪笼草科》中将爱德华猪笼草正式恢复为一个独立的物种，其中包括一个修订描述[注 5]和插图。[23]麦克法兰还在1914年的《林奈学会杂志》（Journal of the Linnean Society）[24]和1919年的《园艺标准百科全书》（The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture）[25]中发表了关于爱德华猪笼草的文章。
1908年，约翰·缪尔黑德·麦克法兰在他的专著中又将其分成两个独立的物种，并写道：“Examinatione microscopica probatur, illas species distinctas esse”。[23]。这可能是基于当时的科学观，即具有不同解剖学特征的类群不可能是同一物种的变型。[26]
关于爱德华猪笼草的自然杂交种极其少见，仅记录到了3种。[4]豹斑猪笼草与爱德华猪笼草的自然杂交种（N. burbidgeae × N. edwardsiana）[4]和爱德华猪笼草与马来王猪笼草的自然杂交种（N. edwardsiana × N. rajah）[4]在文献中很少被提及。但爱德华猪笼草与长毛猪笼草的自然杂交种（N. edwardsiana × N. villosa）曾在19世纪初作为一个独立的物种进行描述，并命名为哈里猪笼草（N. harryana）。[13]
Nepenthes Edwardsiana, Low. MSS. — Foliis (6" longis) crasse coriaceis longe petiolatis ellipticis, ascidiis magnis crasse pedunculatis cylindraceis basi ventricosis 8—18" longis, ore lamellis annularibus distantibus rigidis magnis cristato, collo elongato erecto operculo cordato-rotundato, racemo simplici, rachi pedicellisque ferrugineo-tomentosis.—(Tab. LXX.) Hab.—Kina Balu, north side; alt. 6,000–8,000 feet (Low).
The leaves, ascidia, and pitchers sent by Mr. Low are all old, and nearly glabrous; but the young parts,—rachis, peduncles of the panicle, and the calyx—are covered with ferruginous tomentum. One of the pitchers sent is eighteen inches long from the base to the apex of the erect operculum; it is two and a half inches in diameter below the mouth, one and a half at the narrowest part (about one-third distant from the base) and the swollen part above the base is about two inches in diameter. The beautiful annular discs which surround the mouth are three-quarters of an inch in diameter.
As we ascended, we left the brushwood and entered a tangled jungle, in which few of the trees were large. The spur of the mountain became very narrow, sometimes not much wider than the path, and was greatly encumbered at one part by the twining stems of the Nepenthes Edwardsiana. This handsome plant was not, however, much diffused along the spur, but confined to a space about a quarter of a mile in length, and climbed upon the trees around, with its fine pitchers hanging from all the lower boughs. We measured one plant and it was twenty feet in length, quite smooth, and the leaves of a very acute shape at both ends. It is a long, cylindrical, finely-frilled pitcher, growing on every leaf; one we picked measured twenty-one inches and a half long, by two and a half in breadth. They swell out a little towards the base, which is bright pea green, the rest of the cylinder being of a brilliant brick-red colour. Its mouth is nearly circular, the border surrounding it being finely formed of thin plates about a sixth of an inch apart, and about the same in height, and both of a flesh colour; the handsome lid is of a circular shape. The dried specimen forwarded to Dr. Hooker only measured eighteen inches. The plant is epiphytal, growing on casuarinas (species nova). The pitchers of the young creepers precisely resemble those of the older ones, except in size.
26. N. Edwardsiana Hook f. in Trans. Linn. Soc. XXII. (1859) 420 t. LXX; Spencer St. John, Life in For. Far East I. (1862) 335 t. 336; Burbidge, Gard. of Sun (1880) 100, 108, 280, 284, 344, et in Gard. Chron. ser. 2. XVII. (1882) 56; Macfarlane in Ann. of Bot. VII. (1893) 433; Stapf in Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. IV. (1894) 69; G. Beck in Wien. Ill. Gart. Zeitg. (1895) 183; Burbidge in Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. XXI. (1897) 258. — N. Edgeworthii Reichb. f. herb. ex G. Beck l. c. 183. — Planta saepe epiphytica, Casuarineas et arbores alias ascendens. Caulis 3—9 m longus X 8—12 mm crassus, cylindricus v. ± trigonus, juventute ferrugineopuberulus demum glaber. Folia 20—30 cm longa X 6—10 cm lata, coriacea, petiolata; petiolus 6—10 cm longus, validus, alatus, basis ad 2/3 amplexicaulis, alae non v. leviter decurrentes pilis longis fuscis sparsis obsitae; lamina elliptica v. oblonga inferne in petiolum angustata, ad apicem rotundata v. in cirrhum attenuata, supra glabra subtus glabra et punctata, marginibus et costa ± hirsuta, nervi longitudinales 4—5 obscuri, par intimum 25—35 mm, par secundum 29—40 mm, par tertium 30—44 mm, par quartum 31—43 mm a costa remotum, nervi transversi radiantes v. ascendentes, 2—3 mm inter se separati; cirrhus 30—60 cm longus X 3—6 mm crassus, cylindricus, in basim ascidii recurvatam abrupte ampliatus, juventute dense ferrugineo-pubescens demum glaber; ascidia 20—50 cm longa, X 4—7 cm lata, monomorphia, ± puberula v. glabra, dimidio inferiore leviter ventricosa et coeruleo-viridia, dimidio superiore cylindrica, rubra, alae ventrales 0, v. a basi sursum gradatim ampliatae et ± ciliatae, os subcirculare; peristomium magnum 1,5—2 cm latum, obliquum, postice in collum 3—5 cm altum elongatum, caro tinctum, superficie in lamellas transversas 6—8 mm profundas et 4—8 mm inter se separatas elevata, margo exterior recurvatus, interior in dentes magnos deflexus; operculum 6—10 cm longum X 5—9 cm latum, cordato-ovatum v. cordato-orbiculare, extus glabrum intus glandulosum, glandulae multae, parvae, dense aggregatae; ascidium intus per dimidium superius v. profundius glaucopurpureum opacum et deducens, inferne nitidum glandulosum et detinens, glandulae superne parvae discretae profunde immersae, inferne magnae approximatae et subexsertae. Inflorescentia 30—40 cm longa, rufo-tomentella; pedunculus 15—25 cm longus validus; racemus ± densiflorus; pedicelli 1,5—2 cm longi uniflori. Flores 7—12 mm lati, ♂ minores quam ♀. Sepala elliptica v. obovata, extus ferrugineo-pubescentia, intus glandulis paucis parvis mediis adspersa. Columna staminea 3 mm longa, inferne ferrugineo-pubescens superne glabra; antherae 8—12, uniseriatae v. antheris duabus superioribus transversis. Capsula 20—22 mm longa X 5 mm lata, fusiformis, breviter pedunculata, ferrugineo-puberula v. brunneo-nitida, valvae stigmatibus obtusis triangulis terminatae. Semina tenuia, 8—9 mm longa. — Fig. 16.
S. W. Malayische Provinz; Borneo: Auf der nördlichen Seite des Berges Kina Balu bis 2000 m (Low!); "on the sunny southern spur" up to 2700 m (Burbidge!); auf dem Kiau-Rücken, 1500 m (Burbidge!); "spur of Kina Balu" (Spencer St. John).
This most remarkable plant [N. villosa] resembles that of edwardsiana in so many respects, especially in the size, form and disposition of the distant lamellae of the mouth, that I am inclined to suspect that it may be produced by young plants of that species, before it arrives at a stage when the pitchers have elongated necks.
Merrill, E.D. 1921. A bibliographic enumeration of Bornean plants. Journal of the Straits branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, special number. pp. 281–295.
Macfarlane, J.M. 1914. Nepenthaceae. In: L.S. Gibbs. A contribution to the flora and the plant formations of Mount Kinabalu and the Highlands of British North Borneo. Journal of the Linnean Society42: 125–127.
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
Beaman, J.H. & C. Anderson 2004. The Plants of Mount Kinabalu: 5. Dicotyledon Families Magnoliaceae to Winteraceae. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu.
Clarke, C. & J.A. Moran 2011. Incorporating ecological context: a revised protocol for the preservation of Nepenthes pitcher plant specimens (Nepenthaceae). Blumea56(3): 225–228. doi:10.3767/000651911X605781
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
