Ginkgo biloba
Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- GIN-koh bih-LOW-bah
- This plant has low severity poison characteristics.
- See below
- Description
-
Ginkgo is a long lived prehistoric tree, in the Ginkgoaceae family. A large deciduous tree it reaches 50 to 80 feet in height and 30 to 40 feet wide. It has unique fan shaped leaves and plum like yellow orange seeds on the female trees only. It has a distinct sculptural shape and brings a beautiful quality of light as the sun filters through its canopy.
Plant in full sun this tree tolerates a large range of soil types except for wet soils. It grows in Zone 8 and 9 in the Southeast.
The showy yellow leaves drop rapidly in fall. This tree is tolerant of drought, heat, air pollution, and is moderately salt tolerant. Resistant to browsing by by deer. This easy to transplant tree makes an excellent choice for urban settings, and it is also popular for use in bonsai.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Fruits from female trees are messy and foul smelling fleshy seeds so plant male trees, May cause contact dermatitis in some people.
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:
- Plant Walls and Hedges
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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'Bryson City'
- 'Golden Globe'
- 'Mariken'
Great golden fall color - 'Golden Globe'
- 'Bryson City', 'Golden Globe', 'Mariken'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
-
'Bryson City'
- 'Golden Globe'
- 'Mariken'
Great golden fall color - 'Golden Globe'
- 'Bryson City', 'Golden Globe', 'Mariken'
- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Ginkgo
- Species:
- biloba
- Family:
- Ginkgoaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- China South-Central and China Southeast
- Play Value:
- Sound
- Wildlife Food Source
- 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. - 80 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 30 ft. 0 in. - 40 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Edible
- Poisonous
- Tree
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Horizontal
- Pyramidal
- Growth Rate:
- Medium
- Maintenance:
- Medium
- Texture:
- Medium
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Occasionally Wet
- Available Space To Plant:
- 24-60 feet
- more than 60 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5b, 5a, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9b, 9a
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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.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Cream/Tan
- Green
- Orange
- Flower Inflorescence:
- 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.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Leathery
- Smooth
- Soft
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- 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:
- 2-3 in. emerald green, fan-shaped, alternate, simple leaf in clusters of three to five; yellow fall color. Dichotomously veined in clusters.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Dark Brown
- Dark Gray
- Surface/Attachment:
- Ridges
- Bark Description:
- Grey-brown bark in ridges.
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- Imbricate mounded acute.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Recreational Play Area
- Walkways
- Landscape Theme:
- Children's Garden
- Drought Tolerant Garden
- Design Feature:
- Shade Tree
- Specimen
- Street Tree
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Drought
- Heat
- Pollution
- Salt
- Urban Conditions
- Problems:
- Contact Dermatitis
- Malodorous
- Messy
- Poisonous to Humans
-
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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:
- Seeds
