Fortune[1] mentions that the tree grows to a very large size in the Shanghai district, and in the northern part of the Chekiang province. The Japanese name Ginkgo is their pronunciation of the Chinese yin-kuo, "silver fruit"; but the common name in Japan is i-cho.
Introduction
The tree was introduced into Europe about 1730, being first planted in the Botanic Garden at Utrecht. Jacquin brought it into the Botanic Garden at Vienna sometime after 1768. It was introduced into England about 1754; and into the Unites States in 1784, by W. Hamilton, who planted it in his garden at Woodlawn, near Philadelphia. It first flowered in Europe at Kew in 1795. Female flowers were first noticed by De Candolle in 1814 on a tree at Bourdigny near Geneva. Scions of this tree were grafted on a male tree in the Botanic Garden of Montpellier; and perfect fruit was produced by it for the first time in Europe in 1835.
Cultivation
Ginkgo is easily raised from seeds, which retain their vitality for some months. Female plants may be obtained by grafting. It is easily transplanted, even when of a large size. Trees of over 40 feet high have been successfully moved. It thrives in deep, well-drained, rich soil. It is useful for planting in towns, as it is free from the attacks of insects and fungi; and the hard leathery leaves resist the smoke of cities. It may also be freely pruned. It is of course best propagated by seed; but layers and cuttings may be employed in certain cases. Falconer (loc. cit.) says that it is not readily propagated by cuttings, and that it took two years to root a cutting in the gardens at Glen Core (U.S.A.). Pyramidal forms can be obtained by careful selection, and the broad-leaved variety by careful grafting. The Ginkgo is well adapted for cultivation in tubs or vases, and may then be trained either as a pyramid or a bush.
The tree has a formal appearance when young, and is not really beautiful till it attains a fair age. The peculiar form of the leaves renders it a striking object. The foliage, just before it falls in autumn, turns a bright yellow[2] colour, which makes it very effective in that season, but only for a few days, as the defoliation is very rapid.
Remarkable Trees
Ginkgo is perfectly hardy in England, and, as a lawn tree, is seen to great advantage. Many trees of considerable size occur in different parts of the country. The best known one is that at Kew, of which a photograph is given (Plate 21). In 1888 it was (measured by Mr. Nicholson) 56 feet in height, with a girth of 9 feet at
- ↑ See Fortune, Wanderings in China, 118, 251; Residence among the Chinese, 140, 348, 363; Yedo and Peking, 59.
- ↑ There is no trace of red in the autumnal tint, as is usual in other trees in their leaves before they fall. The tint in Ginkgo depends entirely on the yellow coloration of the disorganised chlorophyll corpuscles, and forms a beautiful object for the microscope.
