Ginkgo biloba

COMMON NAME: Ginkgo, Maidenhair Tree

FAMILY: Ginkgo Family; Ginkgoaceae

GROWTH HABIT: Upright, pyramidal, becoming broader and regular with age. Height 50 - 80 ft. tall.

FOLIAGE: Alternate, simple, deciduous. 1 - 3 in. long in clusters on spur shoots on second-year twigs. Fan-shaped with forking, parallel veins. Petioles 1 -3 in. long. Leathery texture. Fall color yellow-gold.

BUDS: Mounded, often acute, brownish.

BARK: Gray-brown ridges, darker furrows.

FLOWERS: Male and female on separate trees. Males far more common, hollow, in thick hanging clusters, with the new spring leaves. Female looks like a small corn on a long stalk.

FRUIT: (Gymnosperm) Droop-like seeds on female trees about 1 in. long. Smooth and green, becoming yellow and wrinkled; containing an edible center.

NATURAL HISTORY: Geological records indicate this plant has grown on earth for 150 million years. No individuals now known in the wild state. Swimming sperm are reminiscent of the ferns. Resistance to disease and immune to many inset pests.

NATIVE HABITAT: Southeastern China.