Overnight the green gingkoes became a glowing yellow gingkoes standing at the back of the yard. This is a rare fall sight as killing frost usually takes off the leaves before they turn color.
What Is a Gingko?
Sometimes called a maidenhair tree, this tree is a living fossil, related to pines. It and its relatives were once browsed on by dinosaurs. Only one kind, Gingko biloba, has survived to modern times thanks to man.
This species is native to Asia and was planted in monastery gardens in China. The nuts are edible when roasted.
The leaves are the reason for the species name. Unlike most flat leaves with a main vein branching off into smaller and smaller veins, gingko veins split into two and those split into two and so forth.
Modern Gingkoes
I first met a gingko in Philadelphia. A large female tree, there are separate male and female trees, was dropping its fruit over the sidewalk by Benjamin Franklin’s grave.
The main drawback to this tree was very evident. The flesh from the fruit stunk like dog feces.
However, gingkoes are very resistant to air pollution so cities like to plant them along streets. They plant only male trees to avoid that major drawback.
Beautiful Fall Color
This place is a frost pocket so our three gingkoes have a hard time both in spring and fall. The late spring frost last spring devastated the three. It took so long for them to leaf out, we thought they might be dead.
This fall has had several light frosts. Killing frost is supposed to arrive next week, but the warning temperatures encouraged the yellow gingkoes to flaunt their glowing lemon yellows for a few days.
Are these trees male or female? We don’t know. We’ve never seen them bloom or had any fruit. They do make lovely yard trees.
