About Gingko biloba
One of the most distinctive and eye-catching plants in the Seattle Japanese Garden is Ginkgo biloba, sometimes known as maidenhair tree or just ginkgo. The beautiful golden-yellow fall color of this deciduous tree, which has unusual fan-shaped leaves, rivals that of Japanese Maples. Although having broad deciduous leaves, ginkgo trees are more closely related to conifers than they are to maples or other deciduous trees. Conifers are woody plants like pine and fir that have foliage that resembles needles or scales. Ancient trees leave behind a history that is preserved in their fossilized remains and, in some cases, even in their current histories. A few species have samples from the past that date back thousands of years. Although there are significant examples of Ginkgo trees that have been planted in botanical gardens and other locations around the globe, the oldest and most extensive Ginkgo legends come from China, where the trees prevail in fragmented woods. This pecu...