When fossils of this species were first discovered in 1941 in Japan, the tree was believed to have been long extinct. Fossils were also later discovered in the Columbia Gorge. But in 1944, live trees were found in a remote valley in central China. The Hoyt Arboretum planted seeds from these trees and in 1952, this tree became the first in the Western hemisphere to produce cones in about 6 million years.
Located in Hoyt Arboretum, 4000 SW Fairview Blvd, Portland (tree at end of Bray Lane)