The Fruits of the Ginkgo Tree
I have thousands and thousands of trees at my Bedford, New York farm - in groves, allees, hedges and as beautiful stand-alone specimens in the landscape. Many were already well-established when I purchased the property, but I have also planted scores of trees around my home and in the woodlands. This time every year, one tree stands out - the mighty female ginkgo behind my Summer House, which started dropping all its smelly fruits just days ago.
Ginkgo biloba, commonly known as ginkgo or gingko, and also known as the maidenhair tree, is the only living species in the division Ginkgophyta. It is found in fossils dating back about 300-million years. Native to China, the ginkgo tree is widely cultivated. I have several ginkgo trees planted around my home, but the majestic ginkgo in my sunken garden is original to the property and is about 250-years old. Although not as large as others I've seen, my tree is quite massive.
Enjoy these photos.
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- This is the sunken garden behind my Summer House. The main focal point is this great old ginkgo tree at the back of the space. This is how it looks before the leaves turn – it’s filled with beautiful bright green foliage.
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- I have smaller ginkgo trees on either side of the footpath. The ginkgo biloba is one of the most distinct and beautiful of all deciduous trees. It prefers a minimum of four hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight each day. The ginkgo has a cone-like shape when young, and becomes irregularly rounded as it ages.
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- This tree is considered both a shade tree and an ornamental tree. It features a spreading canopy capable of blocking sunlight and adds visual interest and beauty to the landscape. The ginkgo grows to about 50 to 80-feet tall with a spread of 25 to 35-feet at maturity.
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- The leaves are unusually fan-shaped, up to three inches long, with a petiole that is also up to three inches long. This shape and the elongated petiole cause the foliage to flutter in the slightest breeze.
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- The ginkgo leaves are also triangular. Oftentimes they form a notch in the middle separating it into two lobes. Bi-loba means “with two lobes”.
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- Here, both leaves have turned yellow – the one on the right shows the notched separation in the center of the leaf.
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- Many of the changing leaves are two-toned, with separate bands of gold and green.
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- The trunk of the ginkgo tree is a light brown to brownish-gray bark that is deeply furrowed and highly ridged. The ridges become more pronounced as the tree ages.
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- My great ginkgo tree is a female specimen. Female ginkgo trees produce tan-orange oval fruits that fall to the ground in October and November.
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- Here is a group of newly fallen ginkgo tree fruits. The most noticeable thing about these is their smell. Have you ever smelled one? It is hard to miss, and the stench is quite disagreeable. The outer, nasty smelling pulp is known botanically as sarcotesta.
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- The ginkgo seeds inside contain urushiol, which is the same chemical that causes poison oak, ivy, and sumac, so always wear gloves and protect your skin whenever handling the fruit.
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- Here is a closer look at the fruit. It is small and fleshy – about the size of small jujube, or Chinese date.
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- Here is one seed separated from its fruit.
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- It is a single hard-shelled seed enclosing an edible kernel. The kernels are often roasted and used in Asian cuisines.
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- My housekeeper, Enma, collected a bucket of these fruits – I have a friend who loves to cook with them. She will love these.
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- Soon, all the Ginkgo bilobas will turn an amazing golden-yellow and then all at once, after the hard frost, they will drop their leaves – it’s another complex phenomenon of nature.
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- Meanwhile, many of the other trees around the farm are also changing color. I planted many different types of trees in hopes that they would shade, provide climate control, and change color at different times, in different ways. Here is some of the autumn color seen across one of my paddocks.
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- The perimeter around my paddocks displays such wonderful shades of amber, brown, orange and green. I also get many compliments on the fencing around the farm – it is antique spruce fencing I bought in Canada, and it surrounds all my paddocks for the horses, pony, and donkeys.
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- We are also having a wonderful apple season – many apples have fallen to the ground.
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- But, I don’t waste any. Phurba picks all the fallen apples every day.
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- The apples are washed and placed in crates all ready to be pressed into cider. I will definitely share photos of that fun process. What autumn changes are happening where you live? Please share your comments with me below.
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