Maidenhair Tree (LA Urban Forest Program)

Maidenhair Tree

Ginkgo biloba

Summary ⁸

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba; in Chinese and Japanese 銀杏, pinyin romanization: yín xìng, Hepburn romanization: ichō or ginnan), also spelled gingko and also known as the maidenhair tree, is a unique species of tree with no close living relatives. The ginkgo is a living fossil, recognisably similar to fossils dating back 270 million years. Native to China, the tree is widely cultivated and was introduced early to human history. It has various uses in traditional medicine and as...

Description ⁹

Trees to 40 m tall; trunk to 4 m d.b.h.; bark light gray or grayish brown, longitudinally fissured especially on old trees; crown conical initially, finally broadly ovoid; long branchlets pale brownish yellow initially, finally gray, internodes (1-) 1.5-4 cm; short branchlets blackish gray, with dense, irregularly elliptic leaf scars; winter buds yellowish brown, ovate. Leaves with petiole (3-)5-8(-10) cm; blade pale green, turning bright yellow in autumn, to 13 × 8(-15) cm on young trees but usually 5-8 cm wide, those on long branchlets divided by a deep, apical sinus into 2 lobes each further dissected, those on short branchlets with undulate distal and margin notched apex. Pollen cones ivory colored, 1.2-2.2 cm; pollen sacs boat-shaped, with widely gaping slit. Seeds elliptic, narrowly obovoid, ovoid, or subglobose, 2.5-3.5 × 1.6-2.2 cm; sarcotesta yellow, or orange-yellow glaucous, with rancid odor when ripe; sclerotesta white, with 2 or 3 longitudinal ridges; endotesta pale reddish brown. Pollination Mar-Apr, seed maturity Sep-Oct.

Description ¹⁰

Ginkgo biloba, or maidenhair tree, is renowned worldwide for its medicinal properties. This remarkable tree is known as a 'living fossil', as it is the sole survivor of an ancient group of trees that date back to beyond the time of the dinosaurs (3). The maidenhair tree remains virtually unchanged today and represents the only living bridge between 'higher' and 'lower' plants (between ferns and conifers) (3). Trees reach up to 40 metres in height and older individuals tend to have a more spreading appearance with irregular branches (3). The deeply fissured, brown bark may appear cork-like in older individuals (3). Male and female trees are separate; male pollen is borne on catkin-like cones amongst the leaves whilst female ovules are more rounded (3). After fertilisation, yellowish seeds develop with a fleshy outer seed coat that resembles a plum in appearance (3). The characteristic greenish-yellow leaves are fan-shaped and composed of two or more distinct lobes; the Latin species name biloba refers to this fact (3). The common name of maidenhair tree pertains to the similarity of the leaves to those of maidenhair ferns (Adiantum spp.) (3). In autumn, the leaves of the Ginkgo tree turn a beautiful golden hue before falling to the ground (3).

Fuentes y créditos

(c) shi zhao, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-SA), subido por shi zhao, http://www.flickr.com/photos/shizhao/8061422210/
(c) Steven J. Baskauf, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY), http://bioimages.vanderbilt.edu/baskauf/19354
(c) wilna1123, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC), subido por wilna1123
(c) Steven J. Baskauf, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY), http://bioimages.vanderbilt.edu/baskauf/15598
(c) Steven J. Baskauf, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY), http://bioimages.vanderbilt.edu/baskauf/10502
(c) Steven J. Baskauf, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY), http://bioimages.vanderbilt.edu/baskauf/10554
(c) Tamara Horová, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC), https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/104192.jpg
Adaptado por earthwatchtrees del trabajo de (c) Wikipedia, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo_biloba
(c) Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/19781974
(c) Wildscreen, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/6689436