Ginkgo biloba

The Ginkgo has changed little, having remained remarkably the same for around 150 to 200 million years. The female tree is often maligned in the Western world because when the "fruit", really the seed coat, drops off the tree it emits a foul smell. This smell is from butyric acid, the same compound in Parmesan cheese and vomit. However, the seeds of the female tree are prized in Asia where the gingko has long been used as a medicinal herb as a brain tonic to enhance memory.Ginkgo is a survivor from ancient times. There is fossil evidence that 150-200 million years ago great forests of Ginkgo covered much of North America and Asia. Today this hardy deciduous tree, whose leaves turn a bright yellow in the fall, is prized for its many horticultural attributes. It is enjoyed as a landscape plant the world over. Male trees grow taller and more upright than female trees which are smaller and have a bigger spread. Both exhibit an irregular pattern of branching, called dichotomous branching, that makes this tree so appealing. The leaves are an easy recognizable feature of this deciduous tree with a width of 2" to 3+". They consist of a leaf stalk of 3" and a fan-shaped blade with no mid-rib, so the foliage flutters even in a slight breeze. The leaf resembles the leafshape of a Maidenhair fern (Adiantum), hence the plant's nickname, the Maidenhair tree.