In October, while walking down a street in Paris, I noticed this strange-looking tree. Its leaves were an unusual bright green color. When I got closer, I realized the leaves were all wrong. They were shaped sort of like a fishtail or a fan!
I then began noticing more of these trees, particularly at the Paris Botanical Garden (Jardin des plantes). Their scientific name is Ginkgo biloba, but they are commonly called ginkgos, and they are originally from China. Incredibly, fossil ginkgo leaves suggest these trees have been around for millions of years! Ginkgos are considered to be “living fossils,” animals or plants that evolved long ago but have not changed much in appearance today. That means that dinosaurs probably ate leaves from trees that looked just like today’s ginkgos!
These trees are tall and have rough bark. They look very majestic. As I mentioned before, they have very funny-looking, fan-shaped leaves. When I first saw them, they were bright turquoise-green in color. Later in the month, I noticed that some of the leaves were turning bright yellow. Apparently, very late in the fall the trees will turn completely gold in color and then start dropping their leaves, carpeting the ground around them in golden hues. I am looking forward to seeing that in the next few weeks!
