Maiden Hairtree Ginkgo biloba 'Bryson City'
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- GING-ko bi-LOW-buh
- This plant has low severity poison characteristics.
- See below
- Description
-
‘Bryson City’ ginkgo is a male, woody, deciduous tree in the Ginkgoaceae (ginkgo) family. It has a columnar habit and can grow 50 to 100 feet tall and 30 to 50 feet wide. It was brought from China and planted in 1941 by Mary Bryson Tipton, a missionary, and the original tree grows in downtown Bryson City, North Carolina.
While it tolerates a variety of soil textures and pH, a ginkgo tree needs a site in full sun and good drainage to thrive. Its distinctive fan-shaped leaves turn a bright yellow-gold in the fall.
The ginkgo tree is tolerant of drought, heat, pollution, salt, and wind, which makes it a good choice as a street tree in urban settings or a specimen tree in lawns, recreational play areas, and walkways. It is also popular for use in bonsai.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems:. May cause contact dermatitis.
VIDEO Created by Elizabeth Meyer for "Trees, Shrubs and Conifers" a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- Tags:
-
-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Ginkgo
- Species:
- biloba
- Family:
- Ginkgoaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- The extract of the ginkgo leaves has been used pharmaceutically as a memory-enhancer and an anti-vertigo treatment.
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Wildlife Value:
- Ginkgos have no wildlife value. It is over-planted in today’s cities which can decrease wildlife diversity in the urban environment.
- Play Value:
- Sound
- Wind Shimmer
- Edibility:
- The seed, freed of the outer pulp and washed, is boiled or roasted and eaten and also available in Asian food stores.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 50 ft. 0 in. - 100 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 30 ft. 0 in. - 50 ft. 0 in.
-
-
Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Edible
- Poisonous
- Tree
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Columnar
- Erect
- Growth Rate:
- Slow
- Maintenance:
- Medium
- Texture:
- Medium
-
-
Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Shallow Rocky
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Available Space To Plant:
- 24-60 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
-
-
Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Cream/Tan
- Gold/Yellow
- Orange
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- As a gymnosperm, Ginkgo does not produce fruit but its seeds (only on female trees) are plumlike, yellow-orange, the outer, fleshy pulp foul-smelling when ripe, the inner wall hard, smooth, and cream colored. When the seeds fall to the ground they can be quite messy. Most of the ornamental ginkgoes in the United States are male.
-
-
Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Cream/Tan
- Green
- Orange
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Catkin
- Insignificant
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- Ginkgos are gymnosperms and do not produce "flowers" however they are dioecious with separate male and female trees. Male plants produce small pollen cones with sporophylls. Female plants produce ovules at the end of a stalk. Fertilization occurs via motile sperm, as in cycads, ferns, mosses, and algae.
-
-
Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Leathery
- Smooth
- Soft
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Ginkgos have distinctive two-lobed, somewhat leathery, fan-shaped, rich green leaves with diverging (almost parallel) veins. Leaves turn bright yellow gold in fall. Ginkgo trees are commonly called maidenhair trees in reference to the resemblance of their fan-shaped leaves to maidenhair fern leaflets (pinnae). Ginkgoes have the curious habit, in mid-fall, of dropping all of their leaves virtually at one time, usually following a heavy rainstorm. One autumn day, the bright foliage will be intact on the graceful spire-like tree; then, the next morning, the ground underneath the bare branches will be carpeted with its vivid leaves.
-
-
Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Dark Brown
- Dark Gray
- Surface/Attachment:
- Ridges
-
-
Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
-
-
Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Lawn
- Recreational Play Area
- Walkways
- Landscape Theme:
- Children's Garden
- Drought Tolerant Garden
- Design Feature:
- Specimen
- Street Tree
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Diseases
- Drought
- Heat
- Insect Pests
- Pollution
- Salt
- Urban Conditions
- Wind
- Problems:
- Contact Dermatitis
- Malodorous
- Messy
- Poisonous to Humans
-
-
Poisonous to Humans:
- Poison Severity:
- Low
- Poison Symptoms:
- TOXIC ONLY IF LARGE QUANTITIES EATEN. SKIN IRRITATION MINOR OR LASTING ONLY FOR A FEW MINUTES. Irritation of the skin following contact with the juice of the seed pulp; irritation of lips, mouth, and throat and stomach pain, nausea, and diarrhea after eating the pulp.
- Poison Toxic Principle:
- An alkyl phenol and ginkgolic acid
- Causes Contact Dermatitis:
- Yes
- Poison Part:
- Fruits
- Seeds
