Ginkgo is a dioecious tree with fan-shaped leaves that are light green on both sides. Male trees produce tiny green catkins for flowers, while female trees produce 1 to 2 inch "cones" containing 1 to 2 ovules. The fruit is actually a naked seed with a fleshy outer covering that develops a strong, unpleasant odor when ripe in the fall. The inner seed is edible after the fleshy part drops. Ginkgo has light reddish brown twigs that become gray with numerous spur shoots, and broadly conical to dome-shaped reddish brown buds.

1. Ginkgoaceae (Ginkgo Family)

3. http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=122 ginkgo Ginkgoaceae Ginkgo biloba Leaf: Alternate, simple, fan-shaped, 2 to 3 inches long and wide; parallel, fan-like veination, may be irregularly 2 to 3 lobed at the broad edge or just wavy, petiole long, light green above and below. Flower: Dioecious; tiny green males are borne on 1 inch long catkins; female "cones" are 1 1/2 to 2 inch long peduncles, bearing 1 to 2 ovules, present in mid-spring. Fruit: Actually a naked seed; 1 inch long, with a fleshy covering that develops a strong, unpleasant odor when it drops to the ground, inner hard seed is edible, maturing in the fall after the first frost. Twig: Light reddish brown, becoming gray with numerous and obvious spur shoots; buds are broadly conical to dome-shaped and reddish brown. Bark: Light grayish brown with irregular ridges, eventually becoming deeply furrowed. Form: Usually a narrow, oval crown when young, eventually developing an irregular, much broader crown of a few large branches. Spur shoots are obvious. 271E 243W Gymnosperm