Louisiana Plant ID | Ginkgo biloba (ginkgo)

FAMILY: GINKGOACEAE

ALTERNATE COMMON NAME:

LEAVES: simple, alternate, deciduous; fan-shaped (flabellate), dichotomous veins; with or without narrow apical sinus; yellow in the fall

FLOWER: dioecious, male on catkins; both sexes at ends of spur shoots

FRUIT: single seeds about 1/2-1" diameter, encased in fleshly outer covering which smells like rancid butter; most urban trees are males

TWIGS: stout spur shoots, leaves clustered at ends

BARK: gray, ridges

FORM: pyramidal crown, often with one or two greatly enlarged branches

HABITAT: urban trees

RANGE: eastern US; native of China-where it is rare

USES: urban street landscaping (usually male trees) because it is tolerant of air pollution and soil compaction; nuts are harvested in China

Best Recognition Features:

fan-shaped leaves with apical sinus
dichotomous venation
stout spur shoots

NOTE: the only surviving member of the order; dates from the Mesozoic (150 million years bp); has motile sperm; pollination stimulates fruit production, fertilization occurs after the nut falls from the tree

School of Renewable Natural Reources	Louisiana Plant Identification and Interactive Virtual Tours Dr. Chris S. Reid, Project Director \| creid4@lsu.edu LSU School of Renewable Natural Resources LSU AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA © 2003-2018 website problems or broken links: mbowen@agcenter.lsu.edu page revised: 26-Jun-2019 1:44 PM msb	LSU AgCenter
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