Summer 2007 – Forests for Oregon 17

at Vantage, Washington. Buried in lakebed sediments and then covered by lavaflows for millions of years, 15-million-old logs of ginkgo beckii can now beseen in the basalt bluffs overlooking theColumbia River Gorge and WanapumLake.

Ginkgos were thought extinct fromthe planet until, with great excitement,German scientist and physicianEngelbert Kaempfer discovered them inJapan in 1691. It turns out they hadsurvived in China – where they wereconsidered sacred – in the mountainmonasteries, and temple and palacegardens, cultivated by Buddhist monkswho then spread them to Japan.

Jeri Chase, ODF Public Affairs Specialist

Dinosaurs roamed among them. Millennia ago, theyranged across what is now Asia, Europe, and NorthAmerica. Today, they are one ofthe best trees to plant – for somany reasons. The ginkgo – thevery picture of Darwin’s “livingfossil.”

Ginkgo fossils – 19 species of them – have beenfound from as far back as the Permian period, over 270million years ago. The extinctions of the dinosaurs andlarger reptiles – the ginkgo seed dispersers – may haveplayed a role in this species’ downfall. They were allgone from North America seven million years ago; andfrom Europe about two and one-half million years ago.

Today, you can see fossilized evidence of theseamazing trees at the Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park

featured tree

Continued next page

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The Ginkgo - atrue “livingfossil”(GINKGO BILOBA)

The Ginkgo - atrue “livingfossil”(GINKGO BILOBA)

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Summer 2007 – Forests for Oregon 18

Today’s ginkgo has survived essen-tially unchanged since the Jurassic times.It may be the oldest living seed plant – atrue wonder of our natural world.

Of the ginkgo, paleobotanist SirAlbert Seward said: “It appeals to thehistoric soul: We see it as an emblem ofchangelessness, a heritage from worldstoo remote for our human intelligenceto grasp, a tree which has in its keepingthe secrets of the immeasurable past.”

Losing its leaves in the fall, it isdeciduous –– but not a true broadleaf.Nor is it a conifer. Scientifically, and inmany other ways, it’s in a class all itsown, the only link between the “lower”level of plants, the ferns, and the“higher” level, the conifers.

The trunk has light brown tobrownish-grey bark that becomes deeplyfurrowed and highly ridged with age.Ginkgo leaves are fan-shaped, inspiringtwo more names for this beloved tree,one again from the Japanese: “I-cho”,meaning “tree with leaves like a duck’sfoot.” The second name this unique leafshape inspires is the one that’s the mostcommonly known and used in NorthAmerica: the “maidenhair tree,” for itsresemblance to the maidenhair fernwhose fronds have an almost identicalshape.

Their amazing leaves dance andflutter with the slightest breeze. Inspring, they unfurl as a delicate, soft,deepening green during summer, to awarm, emerald tone. But it is in the fallwhen the ginkgo really comes into itsown – glistening in gold. Autumn leafcolor may range from chartreuse tobright yellow to deep gold, dependingon the tree. If these leaves happen to fallin a pool of water, they put on anotherstriking show as they often don’t lie flaton the water’s surface, but bend and, atthe slightest movement, mimic shim-mering golden butterflies.

And when that show is over, ginkgoslose their leaves almost all at once –inspiring a former Poet Laureate for theUnited States to muse upon this unusualphenomenon. In the northwest, thisoften happens around Halloween. Verytidily, too. The leaves fall fast and form agolden carpet beneath the tree – easy forfall clean-up in a garden.

Ginkgos are tough – they have tobe to have survived for millennia.That is just one of the many reasonsthey make such a great tree for ourcities and communities. They canwithstand air pollution, salt, snow,wind, hail, drought, heat, insectsand disease, mismanagement, andeven radiation. Four ginkgos inHiroshima, Japan, withstood theatomic bombs at the end of WorldWar II – thriving, even blooming –while everything about them wasdevastated in the blast.

Ginkgos are also believed toprovide protection against fire; thebark and leaves are thought tosecrete a fire-retardant sap. Many ofthese trees survived the great fireafter the 1923 Tokyo earthquake –and a temple that was surroundedby ginkgos made it through themassive blaze unscathed.

They aren’t all that picky aboutwhere they grow. If you are doingyour own planting, sun is recom-mended, and about any soil will do.The only thing they don’t like ispoor drainage, or for their verydeep roots to be overly wet.

They are slow-growing and long-living. There are ginkgos believed tobe 2500-3000 years old – specimentrees that are over 170 feet in height.In most urban areas, though,ginkgos reach 40-100 feet tall andspread about 20-40 feet.

Young ginkgos are slender andsparsely branched – columnar. It isonly as they age that their crowntruly fills in, and that might nothappen for 100 years or more. Theybroaden into a classic pyramidalshape.

There are male and femaleginkgo trees – and sometimes, bothgenders can be found on the sametree. Females must be growing inthe presence of a male tree to be polli-nated.

Lacking dinosaurs, seed dispersal forthe ginkgo biloba is now done by smallmammals and birds.

Their flowers are insignificant, butthat fruit! It is foul-smelling – resem-bling rancid butter and Limburger

The Gink o – A True “Living Fossil” . . . Continued from page 17

This ginkgo tree near

Oregon’s state capitol

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Summer 2007 – Forests for Oregon 19

cheese. Forthat reason,nowadays mostpeople preferto plant themale tree.Since it can bedifficult to tellthe male andfemale treesapart untilmaturity – at20 years or soof age – mostnurseryvarieties soldare malesgrafted ontoroot stock.

Some ginkgo history:pass the tea or sake

As befits a species that has beenaround for more than 270 millionyears, the ginkgo has a rich andlegendary history.

Ginkgo seeds were used formedicinal purposes in both Chinaand Japan. The seeds are also eaten atweddings and feasts – like theChinese New Year – and, in Japan,during tea ceremonies. Today, grilled

or broiled, ginkgo seeds are still ofteneaten in Japan when drinking sake.

From the 1950s until today, westernmedicine has been studying uses for theginkgo. It is frequently prescribed inEurope, and used in North America andother countries as a herbal supplementfor muscle pain, fatigue, for the treat-ment of Alzheimer’s and for thecognitive symptoms of multiplesclerosis.

A ginkgo tree near a temple survivedthe dropping of the 1945 atomic bombon Hiroshima. The temple wasdestoryed, but the staircase of the newtemple was divided into left-and righthand sides, protecting the tree inside aU-shape. Engraved on the tree are thewords “No more Hiroshima.”

The ginkgo is popular in manydifferent types of artwork from manyAsian cultures - first seen on Chinesesilk paintings by 400 AD, used onJapanese family crests since the MiddleAges, and still common in many logosand emblems in the Far East. It also wasa popular motif during the ArtNouveau movement at the end of the19th century in Europe, and has inspiredpoetry, from ancient Chinese andJapanese sages to the German poet,botanist, and philosopher Goethe.

There are many places in Oregon tosee and enjoy these gems. Some grow in

the Japanese Gardens ofLithia Park and elsewherein Ashland, and many inSalem, Corvallis andGresham. In Portland,they can be found atOMSI, near the OregonZoo, in the JapaneseGardens at WashingtonPark, and the newly-builtClassical Chinese Gardenin Chinatown.

Plant a “living fossil”today, and generationswho will follow willthank you.

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A ginkgo tree near a temple

survived the dropping of the

1945 atomic bomb on

Hiroshima. The temple was

destroyed. However, the

staircase of the new temple

was divided into left-and right

hand sides, protecting the

Ginkgo inside a U-shape.

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