Herbario Virtual del Mediterráneo Occidental
Àrea de Botànica, Departament de Biologia, Universitat de les Illes Balears
Ginkgo biloba L.
Family : GINKGOACEAE
Genus : Ginkgo
Catalan common name : Ginkgo.
Spanish common name : Árbol de los 40 escudos. Gingo.
General distribution : Chinese-Japanese
Flowering time : April.
Life-forms : Macrophanerophyte.
Habitat : Gardens.
Uses and properties : Edible or foodstuffs. Medicinal.
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.
Location on-campus UIB : Únic exemplar a l'entrada de l'edifici Mateu Orfila.
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.
