The foliage of the maidenhair tree, Ginkgo biloba, takes on buttery yellow colouring T Brookside entrance.
Ginkgo biloba is the only species within the genus Ginkgo. Exceeding 30m in height, G. biloba has a pyramidal habit. The leaves emerge from stout shoots and are highly distinctive, having a fan-shaped form, often with a notch at the apex, and with the veining running lengthwise and forking as the leaf widens. During autumn the leaves take on rich buttery hues. The common name derives rom the similarity of the leaves to those of the leas f the maidenhair fern. It is a unisexual species, in which male catkins are produced on one tree, and female flowers produced on short stems, and producing malodorous, spherical, fleshy, plum-like fruits. Introduced to English gardens in the 1750’s this is an attractive, slow-growing tree which takes on a pyramidal habit. Mature specimens are not uncommon in historic gardens, and G. biloba may also be seen grown as a street tree, particularly in China and Japan, but also in the United Kingdom. Here in the Garden we also have an espaliered specimen growing against the northern wall of Cory Lodge.