Ginkgo

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba, sometimes called the Maidenhair tree) is a non-flowering tree known for its distinctively-shaped leaves which turn to a deep yellow color in fall and drop over a short period, carpeting the ground below. The tree, examples of which appear as early as the Middle Jurassic epoch, is considered a "living fossil. It is the sole surviving genus of the Ginkgophyta division of the clade Gymnospermae.

Through prehistoric relatives of ginkgo have been found on other continents, modern ginkgo trees are endemic to China. They are rare in the wild, and were once thought extirpated. The most diverse examples have been found near Tibet, with some specimens apparently pre-dating human settlement at locations in Korea and Japan. Historically they were known in Chinese as 銀果 (meaning "silver fruit"), pronounced yínguǒ in Mandarin. In Japanese, the name is pronounced as "gin kyo". European scholar Engelbert Kaempfer, using Japanese scholar Tekisai Nakamura's 17th century manuscript Kinmō Zu'i, described the plant in his 1712 book Amoenitatum exoticarum. His work was published in Latin, and used spelling "Ginkgo". That spelling was picked up by naturalist Carl Linnaeus for his 1771 book Mantissa plantarum II, adding the specific name "biloba", Latin for "double-lobed".

Ginkgos grow commonly to over 100 feet tall with some specimens in China exceeding 165 feet. Its crown is angular or cone-shaped with large, long, erratic branches. Its roots are deep and help the tree to resist damage from wind and frozen ground. It thrives in a range of soils and prefers full sun. The plant is exceedingly resistant to infestation, disease and pollution. There is little evidence of senescence, with some trees appearing healthy after reaching up to an estimated 2,500 years old. Ginkgo leaves are uniquely fan-shaped, marked by radiating veins, with rounded lobes.

Ginkgos reproduce by more than one means. They are dioecious, with distinct sexes. Male plants produce pollen cones, which pollinate ovules on mature female trees, usually by action of the wind. Actual fertilizations is by means of motile sperm. Fertilized ovules form seeds which are encased in a fleshy shell, given a pronounced rancid odor by the presence of an ester of butyric acid. The tree can also reproduce by forming aerial roots which, if planted, produce clones. The ginkgo genome is extensive, with more than 3 times as many nucleotides as the human genome, though much of it appears reduplicative.

Ginkgos have long been cultivated for their appearance. The trees are revered in Confucianism and Buddhism, and have frequently been planted at temples and shrines, as well as in learning institutions. They are popular in bonsai, and have also been frequently used as ornaments to residences and as street trees for many centuries. They have been cultivated around the world, but not appreciably naturalized outside of Asia. The tree was introduced to North America by French botanist André Michaux, who presented it along with several other exotic plants to Arthur Middleton, proprietor of Middleton Place in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1785.

In many cases, only males trees are planted, in order to avoid the nuisance of rotting, smelly seeds. However, the pollen produced my male trees can trigger powerful allergic reactions.

Ginkgos in the Birmingham area

• James Garrett planted four ginkgo trees near his home on Capitol Park (now Linn Park) in 1884. He may have brought seedlings from a tree he planted at his former home in Greensboro, which may have come, in turn, from Gideon Nelson, who was known as a lover of rare and beutiful trees, which he planted in his "Nelson Grove".
• Around 1904 then Senator Oscar Underwood was presented "a quota of trees and shrubs to be sent home" during renovations to the Botanical Gardens in Washington. He planted two ginkgoes at the Lewis Underwood residence on Clairmont Avenue, and gave another to James Going, who planted it at his home on Highland Avenue. Underwood's wife Mary believed the trees in Wilson Park were from the same gift.
• On March 16, 1910 the senior class at the University of Alabama planted a ginkgo as a "class tree" near the front of the campus.
• Two surviving gingkoes at Woodrow Wilson Park were described in 1934, one, "tall and cylindrical in shape", was located near the "Spirit of the American Doughboy" monument on the west side of the park. The other, more "spreading and compact" stood along the main north-south pathway, north of the park's center.
• During July 1934 The Birmingham Age-Herald columnist John Temple Graves kept up a lively discussion of ginkgo trees, citing continuing correspondence received on the topic:
  • James Bowron planted a ginkgo on the lawn of his residence at 20th Street and 14th Avenue South.
  • A ginkgo was reported growing on a vacant lot behind St Mary's Rectory in 1934.
  • The home of E. H. Cabaniss on Highland Avenue was known for having "one of the largest ginkgo trees in Birmingham." It was admired by Mrs John Weekley, who planted several seedlings at her own home on Shades Mountain.
  • Additional large specimens were noted at the old B. M. Allen residence on Highland Avenue at Sycamore Street, and five were growing in the median alongside the streetcar tracks west of Rhodes Park, one of which produced seeds.
  • A claim that Montgomery had more of the trees than Birmingham was found to be "ridiculous," with nearly twice as many at Elmwood Cemetery alone as the 8 claimed for Montgomery.
  • It was reported that B. M. Nash of Cullman had two half-century-old specimens in his yard, and that Mrs A. J. Kellhopher had planted 200 or more on her property in that city.
  • After Graves made a request for verses relating to the ginkgo, he received a short poem from George Ward which rhymed the tree with "ink o!" and "drink o".
  • "As a result of the recent furore", the Alabama Forestry Commission issued a pamphlet on ginkgoes in late July.
  • Cora Jerett entitled her third novel "The Ginkgo Tree", thanking Graves by remarking, "What luck for me that you've made it famous."
• The Birmingham News columnist Judy Brown recollected that her father had a large ginkgo at their side door nearly overshadowing the house, and that another group of three could be found on Highland Avenue at the foot of Milner Crescent. She later quipped "I never did care for that old tree at our side door till I discovered it was a ginkgo tree."
• Another large ginkgo, described as "representative of the world's oldest species of trees", was planted (or preserved as part of the replanting) on the east side of the park supervised by William Kessler after completion of the new Jefferson County Courthouse in the early 1930s.
• Several ginkgoes planted around Munger Hall and the Stockham Building at Birmingham-Southern College became associated with the school. Retiring faculty and graduating students have spread seedlings from those trees across the country.
• In the 1980s, rows of ginkgo trees were planted on 2nd Avenue North in downtown Birmingham as part of the city's urban tree planting project, guided by Nimrod Long & Associates.

References

• "Senior Day at the University" (March 17, 1910) The Birmingham Age-Herald, p. 7
• Rothermel, Winifred (May 28, 1934) "Fern-Like Plants In Park Here Are Throwbacks To Prehistoric Days." The Birmingham News, p. 7
• Graves, John Temple II (July 6, 1934) "This Morning" The Birmingham Age-Herald, p. 1
• Graves, John Temple II (July 9, 1934) "This Morning" The Birmingham Age-Herald, p. 1
• Graves, John Temple II (July 16, 1934) "This Morning." The Birmingham Age-Herald, p. 1
• Graves, John Temple II (July 27, 1934) "This Morning." The Birmingham Age-Herald, p. 1
• Ervin, Mark (December 1, 2016) "Birmingham in Bloom: An Analysis of the 2nd Avenue Ginkgo Trees" Big Communications
• "Ginkgoes in Birmingham" (Fall 2020) 'Southern magazine, Vol. 45, No. 1, pp. 24–25
• "Ginkgo biloba" (June 13, 2024) Wikipedia - accessed June 18, 2024