Maidenhair Tree (Ginkgo biloba)

Family: Ginkgoaceae | Edibility: Choice Edible (5/5)

Bloom Color: Green. Main Bloom Time: Early spring, Late spring, Mid spring. Ginkgo is a unique species of tree with no close living relatives and is one of the best-known examples of a living fossil. They are very large deciduous trees, with an angular crown and long erratic branches. Leaves are fan-shaped, with two lobes, that turn yellow in autumn. Leaves are usually 5-10 cm (2-4”). Seeds are edible.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Nuts/Seeds

Harvest Seasons: Fall, Late Summer

Flavor & Culinary Uses

sweet flavour and tastes somewhat like a large pine nut. — Seed - raw (in small quantities), or cooked.; A soft and oily texture, the seed has a sweet flavour and tastes somewhat like a large pine nut.; The baked seed makes very pleasant eating, it has a taste rather like a cross between potatoes and sweet chestnuts.; The seed can be boiled and used in soups, porridges etc.

Habitat & North American Range

Found wild in only 2 localities at Guizhou and on the Anhui/Zhejiang border, where it grows on rich sandy soils. (Zone 3, Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8)