 The fungus was first described scientifically by American mycologists Harry D. Thiers and Alexander H. Smith in their 1964 monograph on North American Suillus species. The type collection was made on the campus of San Francisco State University in San Francisco. Smith and Thiers classified S. pungens in section Suilli — a grouping of related species characterized by the presence of either a ring on the stipe, a partial veil adhering to the cap margin, or a "false veil" not attached to the stipe but initially covering the tube cavity.
