E20151123-0003Ginkgo bilobaRPBG

Description:

Ginkgo bilobamaidenhair tree. Ginkgo trees are living fossils with a fossil record going back 270 million years. I'm sure that some of my Chinese friends will correct me about present day distribution but it is likely that present day plants exist only in cultivation and naturalized escapes. If any wild populations exist they are to be found in Zhejiang Province of China. The tree is planted and revered at Buddhist temples in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Some of these trees may exceed 1500 years in age. The leaves are from a street tree in Berkeley, CA.