Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Filiformis' / threadleaf Hinoki cypress

Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Filiformis' is a dwarf, broadly pyramidal selection of Hinoki cypress with pendant branching, and long, whipcord-like, medium-green foliage. After 10 years of growth, a mature specimen will measure 30 inches (75 cm) tall and half as wide, an annual growth rate of around 3 inches (7.5 cm).

This cultivar originated long ago in Japan. named for a unique specimen found in 1865, in a garden in Tokyo, Japan, by C.J. Maximowicz. Ludwig Beissner first described in botanical literature in his 1900 book Handbuch der Nadelholzkunde. Hermann Hesse Nursery introduced it to the European nursery in 1902.

At one point, this conifer was thought to be lost to cultivation, but has recently re-discovered in a few of the prominent conifer collections in Europe.