The HUDSON RIVER PARK Companion
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    • Index - SCIENTIFIC NAMES - A - Z
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  • Saxifrage family (Saxifragaceae)

Ginkgo biloba
ginkgo


Picture
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
Picture
Picture

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

Picture
April
Ginkgo full leaf
June

Tree / Buds / Bark

Tree
  • Dioecious
  • Deciduous
Buds
  • With overlapping scales
  • Mounded on black spurs or long shoots
Bark
  • Gray
  • Furrowed in older trees
Picture
Picture
Picture
March
Picture
Bark with rows of Sapsucker feeding holes

Foliage

Leaves
  • Arrangement alternate
  • Structure simple
  • On spurs in clusters of 3 - 5
  • Fan shaped
  • Apex notched
  • Bright green/yellow
Picture
April
Picture
April
Ginkgo leaves
Young leaves left - Mature leaves right
Ginkgo leaves
Young leaf left - Mature leaf right

"Flowers"

  • Male: 1" long catkins
  • Female: green, naked ovules
Picture
April - Male
Picture
April - Male

Fruit

  • Naked seeds
  • Clusters of 2 - 6
  • Flesh covering seed produces foul smell
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