Tree species: Ginkgo/fan leaf tree (Ginkgo biloba)
Location: Stadtgarten, Passstraße
Trunk circumference: 3.40 meters
Trunk height: 25 meters
Age (approx.): 140 years
The ginkgo originally comes from China, where it has great philosophical and mythological significance. Its medicinal use is relatively new in the West. The gingko is neither a conifer nor a deciduous tree, but a genus of its own. The trees have separate sexes: there are male and female trees, which are very difficult to distinguish until they reach sexual maturity at 25-30 years of age.
Only the female trees bear fruit that looks similar to mirabelle plums. The ripe fruits spread a very unpleasant smell of rancid butter and are very sticky. For this reason, almost exclusively male ginkgo trees are planted from cuttings in Europe.
