There is also another big difference between individual ginkgos. From my research, I learned that these trees are dioecious, which means they have different sexes. The males and females look slightly different. One of the trees that I found at the Paris Botanical Garden was growing tons of squishy, yellowish, berry-looking things. It turns out that this is a rare female tree! Apparently, cities like to plant only male trees. Although both are equally beautiful to look at, the berries on the female trees smell really bad and make a mess when they fall to the ground. I feel lucky that I was able to find one of them at all.
My first thought was “Wow!” It is such an unusual tree that it made me feel very curious. It was very striking to see that intense green color against the drab colors of fall in Paris. It looked like something out of a fairytale.
When I first saw the female tree, I was really impressed by the berry-like things. I picked some up off of the ground and opened one up: “Yuck!” It was really, really stinky! Holding my breath, I peeled off the rest of the flesh and washed off the giant seed at a sink. It is a hard, perfect little nut and I love it!
Ginkgos are originally from southwestern China, but they have been planted all over the world, including France and the USA. Today, they can be found in cities in many different countries. See if you can find one in your neighborhood the next time you’re walking around!
One of the ginkgo trees I found at the botanical garden was planted there in the 1850s. These trees can live for hundreds, even thousands of years!
