GINKGOS: FRUITING TRE S YOU CAN EAT!
Ginkgo trees have distinctive fan-shaped leaves. Plants related to today’s ginkgos date from the Permian Period before the Age of Dinosaurs. They took o during the mid-Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods appearing alongside dinos. As the Mesozoic gave way to the Cenozoic, the ginkgo family declined until only a couple of species remained. They disappeared almost entirely from the fossil record by the end of the Pliocene Epoch, 2.5 million years ago. While ginkgos once ranged worldwide, there is now a single species, Ginkgo biloba, in a small area of China. They’ve been transplanted to cities around the world as ornamental trees. Extracts from leaves are used in medicines and the seeds are edible. On a side note, I tried some in a Hong Kong restaurant. While dinosaurs may have liked them, I don’t recommend them. Still, yucky as they are, how often do you get to eat something a dinosaur ate?!