Ginkgo biloba (Maidenhair tree)
The Ginkgo biloba is a living fossil. This means that there are “fossils recognisably related to modern ginkgo . . . from over 290 million years ago.”
Its closest living relatives are the cycads, which date back 280 million years. Cycads are slow-growing plants that often have a thickset wooden trunk crowned with rigid evergreen leaves. They are frequently mistaken for palms or tree ferns.
Ginkgo trees are not extinct in the wild but are rare and considered endangered. Cultivation is common in the south of China, with some ancient specimens at temples having been planted more than 1,500 years ago. They are extremely easy to propagate from seed, and can also produce aerial roots, from which new individuals develop. Apparently, this is called ‘self-cloning.’ Trees understood and practised cloning long before the scientists!
It is an attractive, shade-providing tree, very tolerant of pollution and often planted in European and north American cities. In autumn, the fan-shaped leaves turn a spectacular yellow. In addition, the tree is disease-resistant and unattractive to many insects. Unfortunately, the pollen, which is produced only by male trees, is extremely irritating to allergy sufferers.
Left unpruned, ginkgo trees can reach a height of 35 m (115 feet) but make excellent subjects for bonsai, some examples surviving for centuries.
Its resilience to damage is exemplified by the six trees which survived the 1945 atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Almost all other organisms in the immediate area died, but the ginkgo trees soon regenerated.
Many parts of the tree have been used in traditional Chinese medicine, from the 11th century, but claims for the remedies’ efficacy remain unproven. It seems to be a catch-all for everything from indigestion to dementia!
Close-up from my mug
