GINKGO
(Ginkgo biloba)
maidenhair tree
Description:
A glabrous, sparsely branched tree, 120 ft. tall. Leaves are alternate
or in clusters and fan-shaped with parallel veins, on long slender
petioles. Flowers, catkin-like. Fruit, drupe-like, about 1 in.
long, yellowish, with ill-smelling pulp surrounding the thjn shelled,
creamy-white nut which contains an edible sweet kernel. Native
of east China and now cultivated throughout the U.S. as a street
or ornamental tree.
Edible,
Medicinal: The kernel (seeds),gathered in the fall are edible.
Antibiodic, pulmonary, vesicant. Leaves and seeds have vascular
integrity, used in Chinese medicine for lung problems. Extract
from yellow fall leaves strengthens blood vessels, reduces production
of tissue-damaging free radicals, which reduce clump-forming blood
platelets.(remove toxic flesh from seeds and cook) Said to improve
brain efficiency, cellular energy. Use with medical supervision.
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