page_title: Ginkgo biloba
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Ginkgo biloba / Description
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Gingko biloba ou arbre aux quarante écus (Gingko biloba) Circonférence mesurée à 1m50 du sol: 720 cm - (2007). Hauteur&#160;: 31m (2000) Date de plantation&#160;: vers 1766. Particularité&#160;: le plus gros ginkgo biloba de Belgique. Position exacte&#160;: Tournai (Belgique) – Parc de l’ancien château Dumon actuellement propriété de l’ I.M.C.- R.H.M.S. Camera location50°&#160;35′&#160;43″&#160;N, 3°&#160;24′&#160;04″&#160;E&#160;View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap - Google Earth English: Ginkgo biloba also known as Maidenhair Tree. Deutsch: Ginkgo oder Silberpflaum. Nederlands: Japanse notenboom, Japanse tempelboom of Chinese tempelboom. Walon: Ginko on dit ossi djayî do Djapon (Ginkgo biloba). 日本語: イチョウ. 中文: 银杏.
context_page_description: Ginkgo biloba, commonly known as ginkgo or gingko, also known as the maidenhair tree, is the only living species in the division Ginkgophyta, all others being extinct. It is a very old species, with some fossils dating back 270 million years. Native to China, the tree is widely cultivated, and was cultivated early in human history. It has various uses in traditional medicine and as a source of food.
context_section_description: Ginkgos are large trees, normally reaching a height of 20–35 m (66–115 ft), with some specimens in China being over 50 m (160 ft). The tree has an angular crown and long, somewhat erratic branches, and is usually deep rooted and resistant to wind and snow damage. Young trees are often tall and slender, and sparsely branched; the crown becomes broader as the tree ages. During autumn, the leaves turn a bright yellow, then fall, sometimes within a short space of time (one to 15 days). A combination of resistance to disease, insect-resistant wood and the ability to form aerial roots and sprouts makes ginkgos long-lived, with some specimens claimed to be more than 2,500 years old.
  Ginkgo is a relatively shade-intolerant species that (at least in cultivation) grows best in environments that are well-watered and well-drained. The species shows a preference for disturbed sites; in the "semiwild" stands at Tianmu Mountains, many specimens are found along stream banks, rocky slopes, and cliff edges.  Accordingly, ginkgo retains a prodigious capacity for vegetative growth. It is capable of sprouting from embedded buds near the base of the trunk (lignotubers, or basal chichi) in response to disturbances, such as soil erosion. Old individuals are also capable of producing aerial roots on the undersides of large branches in response to disturbances such as crown damage; these roots can lead to successful clonal reproduction upon contacting the soil. These strategies are evidently important in the persistence of ginkgo; in a survey of the "semiwild" stands remaining in Tianmushan, 40% of the specimens surveyed were multistemmed, and few saplings were present.
caption: Ginkgo biloba in Tournai, Belgium
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