Description
Ginkgo (scientific name: Ginkgo biloba L.) is a plant of the Ginkgo family and the genus Ginkgo. The arbor is 40 meters high and the diameter at breast height can reach 4 meters; the bark of young trees is shallow and longitudinally cracked, and the bark of large trees is gray-brown, deeply divided and rough; young and mature tree crowns are conical, and old are broadly ovoid. The leaves are fan-shaped, with long stalks, light green, glabrous, with many forked juxtaposed veins, 5-8 cm wide at the top, often with wavy nicks on short branches, often 2-lobed on long branches, and broadly wedge-shaped at the base. The cone flowers are dioecious, unisexual, born in the axils of the scaly leaves at the top of the short branches, in clusters; the male cone flowers are catkins inflorescence-like, drooping. The seeds have long stalks, drooping, and are often elliptical, oblong, ovoid, or nearly spherical in shape.
Ginkgo biloba is a rare tree species left over from the Mesozoic era. It is a specialty of China. Only Tianmu Mountain in Zhejiang has wild trees. It is born in natural forests with an altitude of 500-1000 meters, acidic (pH 5-5.5) yellow soil, and well-drained areas. Coniferous and broad-leaved trees such as fir, torreya, blue fruit trees are mixed and grow vigorously. It is cultivated in gardens in North Korea, Japan, and European and American countries.
Ginkgo is a fast-growing and precious timber species. The sapwood is light yellow, the heartwood is light yellowish brown, the structure is thin, light and soft, elastic, easy to process, shiny, and the specific gravity is 0.45-0.48. It is not easy to crack, does not reflex, and is a good wood. For construction, furniture, interior decoration, sculpture, drawing board, etc. The seeds are for edible (multiple food is easy to be poisoned) and medicinal. The leaves can be used for medicinal purposes and insecticides, and can also be used as fertilizers. The fleshy outer testa of the seeds contains Ginkgo Acid, Ginkgo Alcohol and Ginkgo Phenol, which are poisonous. The bark contains tannins. The ginkgo tree is beautiful in shape, with tender green leaves in spring and summer, and yellow in autumn. It is quite beautiful and can be used as a garden tree and a street tree.
