The Moreton Bay fig was introduced into cultivation into California in the United States in the 1870s, 13 specimens being classified as Exceptional Trees of Los Angeles in 1980. The tallest "Ficus macrophylla" in North America is adjacent to San Diego's Natural History Museum and was planted in 1914. By 1996 it stood high and across. The widest Moreton Bay fig in North America is Santa Barbara's Moreton Bay Fig Tree. It was planted in 1876, reportedly by a young girl who was given a seedling by an Australian sailor. It measures across. The Aoyama Tree stands between the Japanese American National Museum and the Temporary Contemporary in downtown Los Angeles. It was planted by Buddhist Japanese Americans in the early 20th century.