Ginkgo biloba L.

Ginkgo: Japanese name for the plant

bilobus, -a, -um: bilobed (two-lobed), referring to its leaves, which usually have two lobes

Habit: Deciduous, dioecious tree up to 30 m tall, with an erect, columnar trunk and long, open, straight branches, forming a ± conical crown.

Leaves: alternate, generally arranged in dense groups on very short shoots, deciduous, simple, with a long, thin petiole c. 5 cm long; blade flabellate, broad, 3-8 cm long x 3-12 cm wide, thick, with dichotomous venation and an irregularly crenate distal margin, often two-lobed because of the presence of a ± marked notch at the apex.

Microsporophylls: arranged along elongate loose catkins that grow from the apex of the short shoots. Ovules: ovoid or globose, generally grouped in pairs at the apex of a long hanging peduncle 3-9 cm long, with a collar-like rim at the base; the long peduncles grow from the short shoots.

Seeds: globose or ovoid, 2.5-3 cm in diam., with a yellowish fleshy outer sarcotesta that gives off an unpleasant odour like rancid butter and a hard sclerotesta beneath it.

Reproductive structures appear in spring, at the same time as leaves; seeds mature in october. Microsporophylls cannot be observed because the only specimen of this campus is female.

Native to E China.

It is often cultivated as an ornamental in parks and streets all over the world; male trees are usually preferred, to avoid the unpleasant odour of the seeds. Its ornamental value is mainly due to its leaves, which have a very peculiar shape and turn bright yellow in autumn before they fall, which gives the tree an attractive golden colour. Its seeds are edible, rich in carbohydrates, and can be eaten roasted or cooked. It is also a medicinal plant, particularly due to its properties as a cerebral and periferal vasodilator. Its leaves are used to treat problems associated to venous insufficiency (haemorhoids, varicose veins, phlebitis, capillary fragility) and its symptoms (leg fatigue, leg cramps, etc.).

This species was considered a "living fossil" by Darwin, because it is the only survivor of a lineage of numerous species that reached their peak during the Mesozoic, but became almost completely extinct about 65 million years ago. For centuries it was only known as a cultivated plant in temples and cemeteries in China and Japan, and later in gardens and parks in Europe and the rest of the world, but at the beginning of the 20th century it was found wild in remote areas of E China.

It is easily propagated from seeds. Propagation by softwood cuttings and graft guarantees the sex of the individual.