Picea asperata var. ponderosa, as described in 1916 by Alfred Rehder (1863-1949) and Ernest Henry Wilson (1876 - 1930), in Plantae Wilsonianae, an enumeration of the woody plants collected in Western China for the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University during the years 1907, 1908 and 1910 by E.H. Wilson and edited by Charles Sprague Sargent. This variety is commonly known as Big-cone dragon spruce. Wilson had collected the type of this variety on the western side of Banlang Shan, it is also known to be found in the district of Xiaojin, above Siguniangshanzhen (formerly Rilongzhen).
Notable traits that have a bearing on differentiating it from other specific varieties of dragon spruce include:
Distribution. This variety is native to China - western Sichuan province, in the Guan Xian, Banlang Shan, growing in forests at elevations of 1,000 to 4,500 feet (300 - 3,000 m) above sea level.
