One of my neighbors (in Brooklyn, NY) has been scrubbing the flesh off ginkgo fruit for a few days and drying the kernels. The flesh is very irritating to skin (hence the gloves) and stinky. The kernels will be roasted and eaten, in moderation!
I saw the seeds (nuts?) in an Asian supermarket recently, but wasn’t brave enough to buy them as I didn’t know what to do with them, so thanks for the tip! Next time I’ll get them.
Ginkgo trees are native to Asia but not invasive when grown in other places such as the USA or Canada. Ginkgo trees are actually endangered in the wild occurring only in a few small populations in China. These populations face being wiped out by habitat loss and climate change. Ginkgo trees are the only living member of their genus, family, order, class and phylum this means they have no living relatives! Ginkgo trees have been around for roughly 270 million years and barely changed! The dinosaurs used to eat them! Ginkgo trees can live up to 2,000 years! Female ginkgo trees are actually a good thing. The male ginkgo cultivars often grown have no genetic diversity because they are all clones of the same tree. This is a problem because if a disease can infect one it can infect all equally. This happened with the gros michel banana it nearly got wiped out. While no serious disease affects ginkgos now diseases evolve and mutate quickly and all the time and there is a good chance it may happen. Ginkgo trees grown from seeds have good genetic diversity due to genetic recombination and genetic mixing and an increased chance for mutations. This means that sure a ginkgo grown from seed may die of a disease while another may have the genes to be resistant and survive. Female ginkgo trees absorb male pollen reducing pollen allergies in spring they do this because the female cones have a sticky liquid this means female ginkgo trees act like big pollen filters! Female ginkgo trees also produce seeds and while stinky they are incredibly important and worth putting up with the smell. Ginkgo trees can be grown in zones 3-9! Ginkgo trees tolerate any soil even hard clay but prefer sandier soil. Ginkgo trees like full sun but tolerate shade. Ginkgo trees like moist or dry soil and do not like constantly wet soil they do however tolerate occasional flooding. Ginkgo tree seeds or baby trees grown from seeds can be bought on websites like Etsy for a few dollars. Ginkgo seeds need 3 months of cold stratification the best way to do this is to simply place the seeds in moist in a ziplock and place it in the refrigerator. From seeds ginkgo trees have a 50% chance to be male or female. Ginkgo trees are truly amazing and unique trees it’s important that we keep them alive for generations to enjoy!
I love the Street Trees posts! But I'm not keen on having those smelly Jurassic trees in my yard! Lots of other trees have gorgeous foliage minus the odious and odorous fruits! Avoid the female Gingkos at all costs!
I have a Gingko in my backyard, I estimate it is about 50-60 years old. It was a tall young tree when I moved in 45 years ago. It didn't produce fruit until about 30 years ago, yes messy and stinky. I don't know how you 'sex' a tree, perhaps there are new ways. I would prefer a male, but the birds and squirrels like this autumn snack (the nut not the fruit), and I still get many baby gingko trees every year.
One of my neighbors (in Brooklyn, NY) has been scrubbing the flesh off ginkgo fruit for a few days and drying the kernels. The flesh is very irritating to skin (hence the gloves) and stinky. The kernels will be roasted and eaten, in moderation!
https://www.gardenista.com/posts/ginkgo-nuts/
I saw the seeds (nuts?) in an Asian supermarket recently, but wasn’t brave enough to buy them as I didn’t know what to do with them, so thanks for the tip! Next time I’ll get them.
Ginkgo trees are native to Asia but not invasive when grown in other places such as the USA or Canada. Ginkgo trees are actually endangered in the wild occurring only in a few small populations in China. These populations face being wiped out by habitat loss and climate change. Ginkgo trees are the only living member of their genus, family, order, class and phylum this means they have no living relatives! Ginkgo trees have been around for roughly 270 million years and barely changed! The dinosaurs used to eat them! Ginkgo trees can live up to 2,000 years! Female ginkgo trees are actually a good thing. The male ginkgo cultivars often grown have no genetic diversity because they are all clones of the same tree. This is a problem because if a disease can infect one it can infect all equally. This happened with the gros michel banana it nearly got wiped out. While no serious disease affects ginkgos now diseases evolve and mutate quickly and all the time and there is a good chance it may happen. Ginkgo trees grown from seeds have good genetic diversity due to genetic recombination and genetic mixing and an increased chance for mutations. This means that sure a ginkgo grown from seed may die of a disease while another may have the genes to be resistant and survive. Female ginkgo trees absorb male pollen reducing pollen allergies in spring they do this because the female cones have a sticky liquid this means female ginkgo trees act like big pollen filters! Female ginkgo trees also produce seeds and while stinky they are incredibly important and worth putting up with the smell. Ginkgo trees can be grown in zones 3-9! Ginkgo trees tolerate any soil even hard clay but prefer sandier soil. Ginkgo trees like full sun but tolerate shade. Ginkgo trees like moist or dry soil and do not like constantly wet soil they do however tolerate occasional flooding. Ginkgo tree seeds or baby trees grown from seeds can be bought on websites like Etsy for a few dollars. Ginkgo seeds need 3 months of cold stratification the best way to do this is to simply place the seeds in moist in a ziplock and place it in the refrigerator. From seeds ginkgo trees have a 50% chance to be male or female. Ginkgo trees are truly amazing and unique trees it’s important that we keep them alive for generations to enjoy!
Thank you for this substantial comment Caiden!
I love the Street Trees posts! But I'm not keen on having those smelly Jurassic trees in my yard! Lots of other trees have gorgeous foliage minus the odious and odorous fruits! Avoid the female Gingkos at all costs!
There is an argument that having more females reduces the amount of male pollen floating around in the spring, which can trigger allergies for some.
I agree!
Well in general females do have a civilizing effect on males!
I have a Gingko in my backyard, I estimate it is about 50-60 years old. It was a tall young tree when I moved in 45 years ago. It didn't produce fruit until about 30 years ago, yes messy and stinky. I don't know how you 'sex' a tree, perhaps there are new ways. I would prefer a male, but the birds and squirrels like this autumn snack (the nut not the fruit), and I still get many baby gingko trees every year.
I don’t think you can ‘sex’ a ginkgo until it starts producing flowers, I guess most of those male trees they plant are propagated from cuttings.