Hoyt Arboretum, Portland, Oregon, USA

Common name: maidenhair tree

Family: Ginkgoaceae

Distribution: China & Japan

Habitat: Stream banks, steep rocky slopes

IUCN Red list: Endangered

Hardiness: Zone 3a -40 to -35 F

Life form: Deciduous conifer

Usage: Ornamental

Comments: A distinct and striking leaf that turns a golden yellow in the fall. The leaf is bi-lobed hence the epithet biloba, while the genus comes from Japanese gin kyo meaning apricot.
Ginkgo is a living fossil, its leaves can be found in the fossil record as far back as 270 million years.
This tree is a deciduous Gymnosperm (Conifer) which can reach 100ft tall, individual trees can live for over 1000 years. The trees are dioecious, meaning there are male and female trees. The female trees produce fleshy (fruit-like) cones which are known for its health benfits but has a disagreeable odor; for this reason most ornamental and street tree plantings of ginkgo are of male trees.
There is some debate whether Ginkgo was extinct in the wild and persisted only in cultivation. The current thought is that populations in the Dalou Mountains are found in habitats similar to those in fossil assemblages, so it is accepted that Ginkgo has persisted in these areas.
The name ginkgo is derived from the Chinese 银杏 yin xing, "silver apricot", in reference to appearance of the seed (Whetstone 1993). The epithet "biloba" means "two-lobed", referring to the shape of its leaves.
Ginkgo has been found in the fossil record as far back as 270 million years ago. The oldest fossils come from Asia (in part of the former USSR), and during the middle Jurassic, Ginkgo fossils were more widespread throughout many of the northern parts of the Laurasian supercontinent (North America, Greenland, Eurasia). About 7 mya, Ginkgo disappeared from the fossil record in North America and no fossils have been found since the Pleistocene, leading scientists to think that it had become extinct. However, Ginkgo managed to survive in remote monastaries in the mountains of China, where they were cultivated by Buddhist monks.