It was first formally described as a subspecies of D. stolonifera by Allen Lowrie and N. G. Marchant in 1992. The type specimen was collected from the summit of Toolbrunup Peak, and labeled PERTH 02642964. In a 2005 journal article, Lowrie elevated the subspecies to the species level as Drosera monticola but did not properly cite the basionym of the proposed species, making the new scientific name invalid according to Article 33.4 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. Thus that name was not valid and the taxon formally remained a subspecies of Drosera stolonifera. Lowrie corrected this error in a short note in the 2011 volume of the journal Nuytsia where he provided the correct page number for the basionym and finally validated the name Drosera monticola.