Ginkgo nuts

Ginkgo nuts

　　Ginkgo nuts, also known as ginkgo or ginkgo seeds, are about the size of an apricot kernel, pure white like jade. They have a sweet, bitter, and astringent taste, and overconsumption may cause diarrhea.

　　It is a deciduous tree that can reach heights of up to 40 meters. The trunk is upright with gray bark. There are two types of branches—short and long. Leaves grow in clusters on short branches, and are alternate or spirally scattered on long branches. The leaves are fan-shaped, 4–8 cm long and 5–10 cm wide, with shallowly wavy upper edges, shallow or deep notches in the middle at the tip, wedge-shaped bases, parallel veins, and forked vein branches. The petiole is 2.5–7 cm long.

　　The flowers are unisexual, with male and female flowers on separate trees, blooming at the same time as the leaves. Male flowers form drooping short catkins, with 4–6 growing in the leaf axils or bract axils of short branches. They have numerous stamens, with two-chambered anthers located at the top of short stalks. Female flowers usually occur in groups of 2–3 on short branches, each with a long stalk that forks at the tip, bearing one carpel each, with ovules attached, though typically only one ovule matures.

　　The seed is drupe-like, inverted egg-shaped or oval, 2.5–3 cm long, pale yellow, and covered with a powdery wax coating. The outer seed coat is fleshy, powdery, and foul-smelling, turning orange-yellow when ripe. The inner seed coat is grayish-white, hard, and has ridged edges on both sides. The endosperm is rich, and there are two cotyledons. The flowering period is April to May, and the fruiting period is July to October. It is cultivated in most regions of the country. The root or root bark (ginkgo root), bark (ginkgo bark), and leaves (ginkgo leaf) of this plant are also used medicinally.