Ginkgo biloba L.

Ginkgo, Maidenhair Tree

CLASSIFICATION

Main Group: Plant

Sublevel 1: Gymnosperm

Sublevel 2: Ginkgo

✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦

Family: Ginkgoaceae

Genus: Ginkgo

Species: Ginkgo biloba

STATUS IN NEW ENGLAND

Origin: Introduced

Invasive, Pest, or Pathogen?: No

Rarity Designations: None

BIOLOGY/ECOLOGY

Feeding Type: Photoautotroph

Type of Spores/Gametophytes: Two types of spores, unisexual gametophytes

HABITAT

Wetland Indicator Status: Not Listed

ASSOCIATED SPECIES

NOTES

Native to China. Not naturalized in our area. Commonly planted along streets and in parks and other landscaped areas. Male trees are more often planted because the female trees produce seeds with a foul odor.

The seeds have an outer fleshy layer. When the seeds are ripe (after they have fallen to the ground) they smell like dog feces. The seeds, minus their soft, smelly outer layer, are commonly eaten in Asia. However, the seeds contain toxins, and eating 10 to 50 cooked seeds at one time can cause acute poisoning (Chu 2018). Eating uncooked seeds is considered dangerous and may result in death (WebMD 2023).

This species is often referred to as a "living fossil." The oldest fossil record for its order (Ginkgoales) dates back at least 270 million years ago (before the existence of dinosaurs) (Lin et al. 2021). The ginkgo is considered the only living link between ferns and conifers (Avis-Riordan 2020).

REFERENCES

Avis-Riordan, K. 2020. Ginkgo biloba: the tree that outlived the dinosaurs. 5 May 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. URL: https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/ginkgo-biloba-maidenhair-tree-kew-gardens.

Chu, J. 2018. The Ginkgo – A Living Fossil with Poisonous Seeds. Food Safety Focus (149th Issue, December 2018) – Incident in Focus. Centre for Food Safety. URL: https://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/multimedia/multimedia_pub/multimedia_pub_fsf_149_01.html. Accessed 14 January 2023.

Lin, H-Y, Li, W-H, Lin, C-F, Wu, H-R & Zhao, Y-P 2022. International biological flora: Ginkgo biloba. Journal of Ecology, 00, 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365- 2745.13856

WebMD 2023. Ginkgo - Uses, Side Effects, and More. URL: https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-333/ginkgo#:~:text=Ginkgo%20seeds%20contain%20substances%20that%20might%20kill%20the,side%20effects%20like%20seizures%20and%20loss%20of%20consciousness. Accessed 14 January 2023.

PHOTOS OF Ginkgo biloba

PHOTOS OF SPECIES ASSOCIATIONS