Main Content:
Name: Ginkgo (Ginkgo Biloba)
Other name(s): Maidenhair tree (leaves look like maidenhair fern)
Campus Location: West of the UCR Childcare Center and west side of Heintz Center
One of the oldest trees, growing on earth for 150 million years and was native to North America at one time. The history of the Ginkgo is fascinating. It has been described as “one of the most distinct and beautiful of all deciduous trees.” The Ginkgo is an excellent tree for urban use with its extreme tolerance to city conditions. The uniquely shaped foliage has bright yellow fall color. This prehistoric tree reaches 50 to 80 feet at maturity but don’t expect the small trees on campus to reach this height anytime soon, the ginkgo is slow growing with 4 inches of growth during a good year. The Ginkgo is dioecious. The species has unisexual flowers produced on separate plants essentially it has male and female trees. Most of the trees planted are male selections. The female tree in the presence of a male pollinator produces a round fruit with a “stinky” flesh surrounding the seed. The genus name Ginkgo is from the Japanese ginkgo meaning silver apricot. The MN Landscape arboretum has a number of female trees for anyone interested in smelling the fruit. The medicinal aspects of Ginkgo have been known for centuries. Ginkgo extracts improve brain functioning by increasing cerebral and peripheral blood flow, circulation, and oxygenation, also good for depression, headaches, memory loss, and tinnitus. Recent studies proved Ginkgo supplements were useless. (J. Amer. Med. Assoc. November 19, 2008)
Updated: March 2, 2012 1:40 PM
