Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)

Ginkgo biloba
ginkgo

Locations in Hudson River Park:
Morton - Christopher Gallery
Memorial Square Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera
Christopher - Charles Gallery
W12th - Gansevoort Gallery

Kingdom Plantae – plants
Subkingdom Viridiplantae – green plants
Infrakingdom Streptophyta – land plants
Superdivision Embryophyta
Division Tracheophyta – vascular plants
Subdivision Spermatophytina – seed plants
Class  Ginkgoopsida
Subclass Ginkgooidae
Order  Ginkgoales
Family  Ginkgoaceae – Ginkgo family
Genus  Ginkgo L. – ginkgo
Species  Ginkgo biloba L. –
ginkgo, maidenhair tree

Maidenhair Tree

銀杏 (ichoo, Japanese)
(ginnan, Japanese) = "silver apricot"

ginkgo (Chinese) = "silver apricot"
biloba (L) = "two lobes"

Native to China

Native habitat: Unclear due to long history of cultivation in China and Japan

Once native throughout Northern Hemisphere, extinct during Pleistocene Ice Age, survived in China

Living fossil, related to similar trees of Permian Period (270 mya), before dinosaurs appeared

Life span: 1000 years

What may be found on Ginkgo trunks

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker woodpecker feeding holes

Caution: Ginkgo leaves and the fleshy outer layer of the seeds contain chemicals related to the urushiol found in poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac that can cause an allergic reaction resulting in a skin rash. Take precautions when handling the "fruit" of the ginkgo.

Toxic Parts:
Fleshy, outer pulp of the seeds, and raw seed kernel
Toxin Delivery Mode:
Ingestion, skin contact
Symptoms:
Irritation of the skin following
contact with juice of the seed pulp; irritation of lips, mouth, and throat and stomach pain, nausea, and diarrhea after eating pulp

Edibility:
EDIBLE PARTS:
The seed, freed of the outer pulp and washed, is boiled or roasted and eaten in the Orient and also available in Asian food stores

Toxic Principles:
An alkyl phenol and ginkgolic acid
Severity:
TOXIC ONLY IF LARGE QUANTITIES EATEN. SKIN IRRITATION MINOR OR LASTING ONLY FOR A FEW MINUTES