Scientific name: Ginkgo biloba Common names: - Ginkgo, Maidenhair Tree
leaves with male flowers
leaves with female flowers
leaves and fruit on tree in fall.
leaves and fruit on ground in fall.
Ginkgo tree form - Spring
leaves beginning to turn color
Ginkgo leaves summer and fall colors
Ginkgo buds on spurs
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Flowers:
Dioecious (male and female on separate trees), color similar to the leaves, appear from same buds with leaves in March/April
Leaves:
alternate, simple, glabrous. in clusters of 3 to 5,
fan shaped, dichotomously veined, may be divided or whole, 3 to 4 inches wide and long
petiole 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches long
Buds:
imbricate, mounded, on black spurs or long shoots.
Leaf color:
bright green in summer, may turn yellow in fall.
Fruit:
tan to orangish color, plum-like shape, 1 to 1 1/2 inches long,
appears only on female trees, have an unpleasant odor. Seed is silver white and somewhat almond shaped. many sources state that it is not really a fruit, but is a "naked seed" for an explanation of this see http://www.backyardnature.net/gymnos.htm
Ginkgo biloba is an ancient tree that has no close relatives. It is native
to China but was imported into the United States near the end of the 18th
century.
Classification:
Kingdom Plantae -- Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants
Superdivision Spermatophyta -- Seed plants
Division Ginkgophyta -- Ginkgo
Class Ginkgoopsida
Order Ginkgoales
Family Ginkgoaceae -- Ginkgo family
Genus Ginkgo L. -- ginkgo P
Species Ginkgo biloba L. -- maidenhair tree P (the only known species)
Source for classification listing: USDA, NRCS. 2004. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.