Ginkgo biloba L.

Spice Leaf In the University

Family: GINKGOACEAE

Genus: Ginkgo

Catalan common name: Ginkgo.

Spanish common name: Árbol de los 40 escudos. Gingo.

General distribution (Phytogeography): Chinese-Japanese

Uses and properties: Edible or foodstuffs. Medicinal.

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Macrophanerophyte.

Habitats: Garden plants. Gardens.

Description: A deciduous tree which can reach a height of 40m; it has a pyramidal crown in the male specimens and a more horizontal one in the female ones. The bark is light grey and cracked. The leaves are simple, with long petioles (between 5-10cm), and are light green in colour, turning yellow in autumn. They are fan-shaped with a central notch which divides them into two lobules with parallel veining. The flowers bloom on the small, short branches.

Observations: The name of the "40 escudo tree" is due to the price a Parisian gardener paid to an English horticulturist to buy five Gingkos at 40 escudos each. It is considered to be a living fossil since it is the only living representative of an ancient order of conifers that are already extinct.