[2] The first discovery by a European was by Carl Friedrich Schmidt (1832-1908), the Baltic German botanist, on the Russian island of Sakhalin in 1866, but he did not introduce it to Europe.

The plant was re-discovered by the English plant-collector, Charles Maries in 1877 near Aomori on the main Japanese island of Honshū, who initially thought it to be a variety of Abies veitchii.

[5] hardiness zone of 5 (cold limit is between -23.3 Degree C and -28.8 Degree C)[4] Been seen at sea level up to 1,650m in different areas, but on Sakhalin Island it sits at elevations of 800-1,100m in pure stands or in mixed forests with Picea jezoensis(Yezo spruce) and Picea glehnii around the treeline.

It is also found in lower elevations with broadleaf trees including Betula ermanii (Erman's birch), Castanea crenulata, Kalopanax septemlobus(castor aralia), and Magnolia hypoleuca.

It is also made into products such as boxes, crates, pallets, posts, stakes, fences, wall paneling, and for use in carpentry (exterior/interior).

When young colors of the cones are brown to dark purple, as they mature they turn blue-black to black-brown.