In 1926, Collingwood Ingram, a cherry enthusiast, was invited to lecture on the topic of cherry blossoms to the Japanese Sakurakai society. During his visit, he was shown an illustration in an 18th-century book depicting a large, white cherry blossom variety believed to be extinct. Ingram recognized the flower as identical to a cherry tree growing in a Sussex garden, imported in 1899. He subsequently collected cuttings from the Sussex tree, which allowed for the reintroduction of the Taihaku variety to Japan in 1932. Today, all cultivated Taihaku cherry trees are descended from this single Sussex specimen.