Ginkgo plant leaves make colorful fall displays.
A single plant, the Ginkgo biloba -- or maidenhair -- tree, is the last member of the Ginkgo plant family dating to the Lower Jurassic period 190 million years ago. Gingko biloba owes its survival to northern Chinese Buddhist monks who planted the trees in their monastery gardens. They valued the trees for their edible nuts and medicinal properties, notes the University of California Museum of Paleontology. The highly pest-and pollution-resistant ginkgo plant now graces urban landscapes around the world.
Appearance
Gingko biloba is an up to 75-foot tree with drooping, gray-barked branches and 2- to 4-inch, fan-like green leaves. The foliage's golden yellow fall color adds to the tree's ornamental interest. Yellow- or green-husked autumn nuts follow inconspicuous spring flowers on pollinated female trees. Ginkgo trees, however take as long as 20 years to produce their first crops of the up-to-3-inch nuts.
Growing Ginkgo
Sun-loving ginkgoes require full sun and good drainage. While they perform best in averagely moist, sandy, deep soil, they'll adapt to most soils, including heavy, alkaline ones. Growth may be exceptionally slow for several years after planting. Keeping grass several feet away from their trunks and fertilizing them occasionally after the first few years may increase the growth rate. Trees growing in ideal conditions may live more than 1,000 years.
Herbal Uses
Ginkgo leaves contain glycosides and terpenoids, two chemicals with medicinal properties, Glycosides act as antioxidants. Terpenoids improve blood circulation. In the March, 2000, American Journal of Medicine, Dr. M. H. Pitler and Dr. Edzard Ernst reported the results of eight randomized trials on people suffering intermittent claudication -- reduced blood flow -- in their legs. People receiving Ginkgo extract walked between 85 and 141 feet further without pain than those receiving a placebo did. Standardized extract of dried ginkgo leaf has greater concentrations of these chemicals than unprocessed leaves. Clinical research is ongoing to learn more about ginkgo's potential for treating other conditions, including Alzheimer's and macular degeneration.
Gingko Drawbacks
Ginkgo's major drawback -- other than its slow growth -- is its fruit. While many Asians eat almond-flavored ginkgo nuts, the female trees present a problem where their fruit drops to the ground and spoils. The husks contain butyric acid, a substance responsible for the odor of rancid butter. Uncollected, rotting ginkgo fruit can smell so unpleasant that some areas of the United States have banned female trees.
Male Ginkgo Cultivars
Using male ginkgo trees eliminates the problem of malodorous fruit. 'Magyar' is a 60-foot tall, 30-foot wide cultivar suitable for narrow spaces. Dwarf 'Jade Butterfly's' full-grown stature is half that of a standard tree. 'Autumn Gold' has a symmetrical, round crown and rich yellow autumn color.
Tags: female trees, Gingko biloba, Ginkgo plant, medicinal properties, trees their