Tree of the day: Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo, Whiteknights Quad
Ginkgo biloba is a species of deciduous broadleaf non-flowering plants (in the Ginkgoaceae family), native to China.
Ginkgo biloba is a species of deciduous broadleaf non-flowering plants (in the Ginkgoaceae family), native to China. The tree is easily recognized by its distinctive fan-shaped leaves, which turn a brilliant golden yellow in autumn before falling within a few days.
Ginkgo biloba is often described as a "living fossil" because trees like the present species have existed for 170 million years, and it is the sole surviving member of an ancient group of plants. It is endangered in the wild but commonly cultivated and widely planted worldwide in urban environments, being ornamental, tolerant of air pollution and disease-resistant. Gingko biloba can grow to 30 metres and the largest living trees are estimated to exceed 3,500 years old.
The wood of Ginkgo biloba is lightweight, resilient, and suitable for furniture, carved and turned objects. Its seeds have culinary uses. Various parts of the plant have a long history in traditional and contemporary herbal medicine, but with very little scientific evidence of health benefits.
about this species
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This photo is one of 9403 photos of 877 trees in 334 species
This website is a virtual arboretum, created for interest, education and beauty. It exhibits some of the thousands of trees, of both native and exotic species, that grow in Whiteknights Park, the main campus of the University of Reading. Many of them have been planted since the university arrived in 1947, but some have been here since the 19th century or earlier, when Whiteknights was the gardens and parkland of large houses. More than a hundred of the trees are listed in The Tree Register, nine as British Isles champions (the largest or tallest of their species).
Please send any comments about this website to whiteknights-trees@reading.ac.uk.
The previous version of this website is here.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank: Rupert Taylor, Owen Johnson, Alastair Culham, Jonathan Mitchley, Jordan Bilsborrow, Marcus Wheeler, Benoît Vannière, Miguel Teixeira and Claire Hawkins for tree identifications; Brian Hunt and Trevor Smith for testing routes and contributing text; Dylan Parkes, Martin Watts, Emilija Rudzinskaite, Brian and Trevor for collaboration on the centenary project; Dan Hodson for useful code examples; Studio Lift for website style; Brian, Trevor and Nathanaël van Twillert for comments and suggestions on website user experience; Benoît, Marcus, Steve George, Mark Wrightham, Brian, Trevor, the Friends of the University of Reading, and other friends for their encouragement during the development of the website; the University and its grounds staff for maintaining Whiteknights Park.