Ginkgos

Yesterday's Guardian included a picture of a 800 year old ginkgo tree in South Korea, ginkgoes being known for turning a very attractive yellow in the autumn and for their longevity. This last both in the sense that they can live a long time - along with the yews and redwoods which I have noticed in the past - and that the ginkgoes have been around for more than 200 million years. Which is a very long time for a flowering plant.

It seems that in their native China that they grow taller and older than anywhere else, with the famous tree snapped above having been planted some 1,400 years ago. Now, if not then, in the precincts of a temple. For all of which see reference 1. While our Kew Gardens talks at reference 2 of one that is more than twice as old, yet to be tracked down. 

Absent from both Bentham & Hooker and Zomlefer, but there is a short entry in Hortus Third. And a full page (188) in Lecointre & Le Guyader of reference 3. It seems that the problem is that they are not proper flowering plants, rather almost flowering plants, aka Spermatophyta. Furthermore, the males and females are segregated, just like us humans, but unlike plenty of plants.

While in the same Guardian we have a tree hugging problem. Is it right to chop down a 200 year old fir tree so that it can decorate the papal residence for Christmas? A tree known to locals as the 'Green Giant' from a block near Trentino, in the northern part of Italy, which is due for the chop as part of the applicable forest management regime.

References

Reference 1: https://www.ourchinastory.com/en/13325/Mystery%20of%20the%20.

Reference 2: https://www.kew.org/plants/ginkgo-tree.

Reference 3: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/07/shanklin.html. Most recent notice of Lecointre & Le Guyader.