How to eat ginkgo nuts so they are not bitter, and what illnesses can they treat?
Ginkgo nuts do have certain benefits for the body when eaten, but they should not be eaten in large amounts
Ginkgo nuts do have certain benefits for the body when eaten, but they should not be eaten in large amounts. How do you eat ginkgo nuts so they are not bitter? What illnesses can ginkgo nuts treat?
How to eat ginkgo nuts so they are not bitter:
1. Detoxify: After buying ginkgo nuts, crack them open from the large end with a small hammer, or bite them open from the large end with your teeth, and remove the hard shell. After shelling, there is still a layer of skin on the outside of the white nut, and this skin is toxic. But this skin sticks tightly to the kernel and is very hard to peel off. If you put the white nuts in a pot and heat them, then stir them with chopsticks for a while once the water boils, the outer skin will all fall off by itself. The white nuts will be crystal clear and translucent, very pleasing to the eye.
2. Remove the bitterness: Find a fairly large jar, put the peeled white nuts inside, add mineral water, and place it in a cool, ventilated spot. Change the water every one or two days, and after a week, when you cook dishes or make porridge with them, the bitterness will be much lighter.
What illnesses can ginkgo nuts treat:
They treat diseases such as bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, increased vaginal discharge, strangury with turbid urine, and spermatorrhea. White nuts contain ginkgolic acid, ginkgol, pentosan polysaccharide, sterols and other components, and have effects such as clearing the blood vessels, improving brain function, delaying brain aging, enhancing memory, and treating insufficient cerebral blood supply. The flavonoid glycosides and ginkgolides in white nuts also have preventive and therapeutic effects on diseases such as cerebral thrombosis, high blood pressure, high blood lipids, coronary heart disease, and arteriosclerosis.
Medicinal value: The medicinal use of ginkgo is mainly reflected in three aspects: medicine, pesticides, and veterinary drugs. Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty once said: “It enters the lung meridian, benefits spleen qi, relieves wheezing and coughing, and reduces urination.” Zhang Lulu of the Qing Dynasty, in his “Ben Jing Feng Yuan,” recorded that white nuts have the functions of reducing phlegm, clearing toxins, and killing parasites, and can treat “sores, scabies, gangrene and tumors, ulcerated breast abscesses, dental caries, diarrhea in children, red and white vaginal discharge, chronic strangury with turbid urine, spermatorrhea, and enuresis.” In the Ming Dynasty, Chinese patent medicines prepared from white nuts appeared in Jiangsu, Sichuan, and other places and were used clinically.
Alright, that is all for the introduction on how to eat ginkgo nuts so they are not bitter. Everyone understands now and knows what illnesses ginkgo nuts can treat, right?
The benefits and effects of white nuts and how to eat them; the advantages of eating white nuts
Many people have eaten white nuts and know that white nuts are a healthy and nutritious food, but they are not very clear about exactly what benefits white nuts contain. So what benefits and effects do white nuts have? How are white nuts eaten? What are the dietary restrictions for white nuts? Now let us introduce them to you!The benefits and effects of white nuts and how to eat them1. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that white nuts can astringe lung qi, relieve phlegm and wheezing, stop turbid vaginal discharge, stop diarrhea, detoxify, and reduce urination. They mainly treat asthma, coughing with phlegm, white turbid vaginal discharge, frequent urination, enuresis, and so on.
2. White nuts have effects such as clearing the blood vessels, protecting the liver, improving brain function, moisturizing the skin, anti-aging, and treating Alzheimer's disease and insufficient cerebral blood supply.
3. White nuts contain many nutritional elements. In addition to protein, fat, and carbohydrates, they also contain vitamin C, vitamin B2, carotene, calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, magnesium and other trace elements, as well as ginkgolic acid, ginkgol, polysaccharides and other components. These components are all very helpful to human health.
4. White nuts can treat acne. White nuts contain a component called ginkgolide, and this component has special therapeutic effects on cerebral thrombosis, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and so on. The suitable amount is about 10 grams each time.
Generally everyone can eat them, so they are widely used clinically, and many finished medicines for treating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases contain this component. They are especially suitable for people with frequent urination and women with weak constitutions and white vaginal discharge.
Those with excess pathogenic factors should not take them. Eating them raw or stir-fried in excess can cause poisoning, and poisoning from accidental ingestion by children is especially common.5. White nuts can nourish yin, beautify the skin, and resist aging, making a person's skin and face rosy.
6. White nuts can be used to treat pulmonary tuberculosis. This method is very simple. Specifically, before the Mid-Autumn Festival, pick half-green, half-yellow white nuts (choose large ones with absolutely no damage on the surface), do not wash them with water, and do not remove the stalk. Immediately soak them in raw rapeseed oil, and they can be used after soaking for a full 100 days.
Take 1 nut each morning, noon, and evening (reduce the amount for children), take before meals, and depending on the condition, take continuously for 1 to 3 months.
7. Antibacterial and sterilizing. White nuts contain two components with sterilizing effects, ginkgolic acid and ginkgol, which have obvious antibacterial and sterilizing effects and can be used to treat infectious diseases of the respiratory tract. White nut water infusion has varying degrees of inhibitory effects on various fungi and can relieve itching and treat ringworm.
8. White nut leaves can lower serum cholesterol and dilate coronary arteries. White nut leaves contain shikimic acid, ginkgo biflavones, isoginkgo biflavones, sterols, and so on, and have certain effects in treating high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, angina pectoris, cerebral vasospasm, excessively high serum cholesterol, and other conditions. They are commonly used in both Western and Chinese medicine, and in recent years, white nuts have also become a favorite in health products.
White nuts, also called ginkgo, are a food with very high nutritional value. They can not only be used as medicine, but can also be cooked in dishes. So do you know exactly what benefits and effects white nuts have? Today we will introduce to you the 5 major benefits and effects of white nuts. Come and learn about them quickly!
1. White nuts have the effects of benefiting lung qi, treating coughing and wheezing, stopping vaginal parasites, reducing urination, smoothing chapped skin, protecting blood vessels, and increasing blood flow.
2. According to modern medical research, white nuts also have effects such as clearing the blood vessels, improving brain function, delaying brain aging in the elderly, enhancing memory, and treating Alzheimer's disease and insufficient cerebral blood supply, and they have anti-aging abilities.
3. White nuts can also protect the liver, reduce arrhythmia, prevent fatal bronchial constriction in allergic reactions, and can also be applied to deal with asthma, transplant rejection, myocardial infarction, stroke, organ protection, and dialysis.4. Regularly eating white nuts can nourish yin, beautify the skin, and resist aging, dilate microvessels, promote blood circulation, make a person's skin and face rosy and full of energy, and prolong life. They are a health food suitable for young and old alike and a specially prepared delicacy for entertaining state guests and distinguished visitors.
The flavonoid glycosides and ginkgolides in the kernel also have special preventive and therapeutic effects on diseases such as cerebral thrombosis, senile dementia, high blood pressure, high blood lipids, coronary heart disease, arteriosclerosis, and declining brain function. Asthma, coughing with phlegm, vaginal discharge, white turbid urine, spermatorrhea, gonorrhea, frequent urination.
5. White nuts can treat diseases such as asthma, coughing with phlegm, vaginal discharge, white turbid urine, spermatorrhea, gonorrhea, and frequent urination.
① Astringe the lungs and calm wheezing, reduce the amount of phlegm: suitable for coughing and wheezing with reversed qi and profuse phlegm, whether the condition leans toward cold or toward heat.
② Astringe and stop vaginal discharge, remove dampness: used to treat white turbid urine and vaginal discharge. Whether due to deficiency and decline of the lower origin with clear, thin vaginal discharge, or damp-heat pouring downward with yellow, turbid vaginal discharge, it can be used with appropriate modifications according to the symptoms.
③ Remove phlegm and calm wheezing: used to treat wheezing and coughing with profuse phlegm, and can reduce phlegm and calm wheezing.④ Astringe and remove dampness: can treat red and white vaginal discharge, white turbid urine, frequent urination, and enuresis.
When it comes to white nuts, some friends may not know what they are. In fact, many regions like to call white nuts ginkgo. Their nutritional value is very high, and whether it is the fruit or the leaves of ginkgo, both have certain medicinal value. This is also why the ginkgo tree is a relatively expensive tree species in our country. However, many women pay attention to white nuts because of their beauty effects.
There are many methods circulating online about using white nuts for beauty and skincare, and one claim is that white nuts can remove spots. So can white nuts really remove spots? In fact, the medicinal value of white nuts has already been scientifically verified, and they do indeed have beauty effects.
Homemade white nut acne-removing porridge to drink your way to fair, smooth skin
White nuts are sweet in taste, slightly bitter and astringent, warm in nature, and slightly toxic. They have effects such as promoting fluid production, quenching thirst, and clearing heat, and can be used as medicine. At the same time, they have the effects of detoxifying and beautifying the skin and removing acne, and are suitable for patients with acne and pimples. Regularly eating white nuts can nourish yin, beautify the skin, and resist aging, dilate microvessels, promote blood circulation, make a person's skin rosy and full of energy, and prolong life. White nuts also have effects such as clearing the blood vessels, improving brain function, enhancing memory, and treating Alzheimer's disease and insufficient cerebral blood supply.
Ingredients: about 30 g white nuts, about 100 g rice, about 20 g white sugar.
Preparation
1. First remove the shells and cores from the white nuts;
2. Rinse the white nuts and rice clean, put them together into a pot, and add an appropriate amount of water;
3. First bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for half an hour. It is then ready to eat. You can also add white sugar for seasoning. Once a day, about 150 grams of porridge each time.
I believe that after reading the introduction in this article, you must have some understanding of whether white nuts can remove spots. In fact, if women regularly eat white nuts, they can not only achieve beauty effects, but also have a certain improving effect on abnormal vaginal discharge. However, people with pathogenic factors invading the body are not suitable to eat white nuts, so please pay attention to this point.
Recommended white nut recipesWhite Nut and Winter Melon Soup
Main ingredients: 37.5 g winter melon, 20 g lotus seeds, 10 white nuts; Seasoning: 1 tablespoon white sugar.
Method
1. Wash the winter melon, peel it, and cut it into pieces; wash the lotus seeds and white nuts and set aside.
2. Put all the ingredients into a pot, add 2 cups of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then turn to low heat and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, then add white sugar and cook until evenly mixed.Note: This soup is quite effective for women's body shaping, and middle-aged women who drink it often can regulate the endocrine system and maintain youthfulness.
Stir-Fried Shrimp with White Nuts
Main ingredients: 50 g white nuts (dried), 300 g shrimp,
Seasonings: 40 g egg white, 5 g scallion, 5 g ginger, 5 g pea starch, 20 g vegetable oil, 2 g salt, 2 g monosodium glutamate, 5 g cooking wine
Method
1. Put the shrimp in a bowl, add cooking wine, salt, and monosodium glutamate and mix well, then add egg white and water starch to coat and marinate for half an hour; soak the white nuts in water and set aside.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a smooth wok, add the shrimp and white nuts and stir-fry briefly, then remove. Leave a little oil in the wok, add chopped scallion and ginger and stir-fry until fragrant, splash in cooking wine, add 30 g stock, salt, and monosodium glutamate, add the white nuts and shrimp and stir-fry, drizzle with bright oil, and remove from the wok.
White Nuts with Bitter MelonMain ingredients: bitter melon, white nuts.
Seasonings: salt, monosodium glutamate, starch.
Method
1. Wash the white nuts, wash the bitter melon and cut into cubes.
2. Heat a wok and add oil, then add the white nuts, bitter melon, and seasonings and stir-fry until cooked.
3. Finally, thicken with a thin starch slurry.Fresh Milk, White Nut, and Snow Pear Soup
Ingredients
2 snow pears, 250 g fresh milk, 10 white nuts, appropriate amounts of honey, white granulated sugar, and wet starch.
Method
1. Peel and core the snow pears, and cut into small roll-cut pieces. Take the kernels from the white nuts, wash them, and set aside.
2. Put an appropriate amount of water in a pot, add the pear pieces and white nuts, and cook until done.
3. Add honey and milk and stir well, season with white granulated sugar, thicken with wet starch, and plate to serve.
What are white nuts
White nuts (scientific name: Ginkgo biloba), also known as duck-foot seeds, spirit eyes, Buddha-finger mandarin, white nuts, and gongsun tree seeds, are the kernels of the white nut. Oval-shaped, 1.5 to 2.5 cm long, 1 to 2 cm wide, and about 1 cm thick. The surface is yellow-white or pale yellow-brown, smooth and hard, slightly pointed at one end and blunt at the other, with 2 to 3 ridge lines along the edge. The middle seed coat (shell) is hard, and the inner seed coat is membranous. One end is pale brown, and the other end is golden yellow. The kernel is farinaceous, with a small core in the middle, sweet in taste and slightly bitter. Mainly produced in Jiangsu, Guangxi, Sichuan, Henan, Shandong, Hubei, and other places.
In addition to starch, protein, fat, and carbohydrates, white nut kernels also contain vitamin C, riboflavin, carotene, calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, magnesium and other trace elements, as well as ginkgolic acid, ginkgol, pentosan polysaccharide, sterols and other components. They are rich in nutrients and also have good medicinal effects and dietary therapeutic effects on diseases such as benefiting lung qi, treating coughing and wheezing, stopping vaginal parasites, reducing urination, smoothing chapped skin, protecting blood vessels, increasing blood flow, vaginal discharge, and white turbid urine.Stewed Chicken with White Nuts
Ingredients
Free-range chicken, white nuts, pork, pork bones, salt, white sugar, chicken essence, cooking oil.
Method(1) Heat a pot and add the dried white nuts to dry-fry, then remove and shell and peel them, boil in boiling water for 10 minutes, and remove the cores of the white nuts with a toothpick.
(2) Blanch the chicken, pork bones, and pig trotters in boiling water and set aside.
(3) Heat a clay pot, add two pieces of pork bone, chicken, white nuts, pig trotters, and water, then turn to very low heat and stew for 8 to 12 hours.
(4) After cooking, remove and add salt and white sugar, mix well into the broth, and serve.
Tip: After removing the hard shells, it is best to blanch them with boiling water to help peel off the soft skin, and the core must be removed.
The nutritional value of white nuts
White nuts are a nutrient-rich premium tonic, containing crude protein, crude fat, reducing sugars, nucleoprotein, minerals, crude fiber, and various vitamins and other components.
According to scientific conclusions: every 100 g of fresh white nuts contains 13.2 g protein, 72.6 g carbohydrates, and 1.3 g fat, and contains vitamin C, riboflavin, carotene, and calcium, phosphorus, iron, selenium, potassium, magnesium and many other trace elements, as well as 8 amino acids. They have very high edible value, medicinal value, and health care value, and have remarkable effects on human health.
White nut kernels contain many nutritional elements. In addition to starch, protein, fat, and carbohydrates, they also contain vitamin C, riboflavin, carotene, calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, magnesium and other trace elements, as well as ginkgolic acid, ginkgol, pentosan polysaccharide, sterols and other components.
They have dietary therapeutic effects and medicinal effects such as benefiting lung qi, treating coughing and wheezing, stopping vaginal parasites, reducing urination, smoothing chapped skin, protecting blood vessels, and increasing blood flow.According to modern medical research, white nuts also have effects such as clearing the blood vessels, improving brain function, delaying brain aging in the elderly, enhancing memory, and treating Alzheimer's disease and insufficient cerebral blood supply, and they have anti-aging abilities. They have had a great scientific influence in Germany and France.
In addition, white nuts can also protect the liver, reduce arrhythmia, prevent fatal bronchial constriction in allergic reactions, and can also be applied to deal with asthma, transplant rejection, myocardial infarction, stroke, organ protection, and dialysis.
Regularly eating white nuts can nourish yin, beautify the skin, and resist aging, dilate microvessels, promote blood circulation, make a person's skin and face rosy and full of energy, and prolong life. They are a health food suitable for young and old alike and a specially prepared delicacy for entertaining state guests and distinguished visitors.
The flavonoid glycosides and ginkgolides in the kernel also have special preventive and therapeutic effects on diseases such as cerebral thrombosis, senile dementia, high blood pressure, high blood lipids, coronary heart disease, arteriosclerosis, and declining brain function.
White nuts are a nutrient-rich premium tonic, containing crude protein, crude fat, reducing sugars, nucleoprotein, minerals, crude fiber, and various vitamins and other components. According to scientific conclusions: every 100 g of fresh white nuts contains 13.2 g protein, 72.6 g carbohydrates, and 1.3 g fat, and contains vitamin C, riboflavin, carotene, and calcium, phosphorus, iron, selenium, potassium, magnesium and many other trace elements, as well as 8 amino acids. They have very high edible value, medicinal value, and health care value, and have remarkable effects on human health.
White nut kernels contain many nutritional elements. In addition to starch, protein, fat, and carbohydrates, they also contain vitamin C, riboflavin, carotene, calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, magnesium and other trace elements, as well as ginkgolic acid, ginkgol, pentosan polysaccharide, sterols and other components. They have dietary therapeutic effects and medicinal effects such as benefiting lung qi, treating coughing and wheezing, stopping vaginal parasites, reducing urination, smoothing chapped skin, protecting blood vessels, and increasing blood flow.The flavonoid glycosides and ginkgolides in the kernel also have special preventive and therapeutic effects on diseases such as cerebral thrombosis, senile dementia, high blood pressure, high blood lipids, coronary heart disease, arteriosclerosis, and declining brain function.
Antibacterial and sterilizing. The ginkgolic acid and ginkgol contained in white nuts have been experimentally proven to have antibacterial and sterilizing effects and can be used to treat infectious diseases of the respiratory tract. White nut water infusion has varying degrees of inhibitory effects on various fungi and can relieve itching and treat ringworm.
The ginkgolic acid and ginkgol contained in the outer seed coat of white nuts have effects against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. White nuts soaked in oil have a strong inhibitory effect on Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Fresh fruits soaked in raw rapeseed oil have a certain effect on improving symptoms caused by pulmonary tuberculosis such as fever, night sweats, coughing with blood, and poor appetite. Therefore, they can be used to treat pulmonary tuberculosis.
White nuts are rich in amino acid elements, and this element has a very remarkable effect on beauty and skincare. This is because amino acids can react in the body to form collagen. Collagen should not be an unfamiliar thing to people who love beauty, right? So the beauty effects of white nuts are also very remarkable.
Regular consumption can dilate microvessels, promote blood circulation, and make a person's skin rosy and full of energy.
The medicinal value of white nuts
1. Antibacterial effect
White nut flesh, white nut juice, and ginkgol, especially ginkgolic acid, have inhibitory effects on human-type and bovine-type Mycobacterium tuberculosis in in vitro tests. White nut extract at 150-200 mg/kg/day by gavage has an obvious therapeutic effect on guinea pigs infected with human-type Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
It has also been reported that white nut juice, white nut flesh, ginkgol, and ginkgolic acid have no significant efficacy in in vivo tests (experimental treatment in mice and guinea pigs), or are too toxic. The antibacterial components contained in the fruit pulp of oil-soaked white nuts have effects on several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.
The effect on Mycobacterium tuberculosis is extremely significant. After this bacterial component is heated to 85°C, it loses its effect on Escherichia coli, but after heating at 100°C for 30 minutes, it still has an inhibitory effect on Mycobacterium tuberculosis.The water infusion of white nuts (1:2) shows antibacterial effects in vitro against 7 kinds of dermatophytes, including Trichophyton violaceum, Microsporum audouinii, and Nocardia asteroides. The antibacterial power of white nut flesh is stronger than that of the fruit skin.
2. Effects on the respiratory system
Intraperitoneal injection of white nut ethanol extract into mice can increase phenol red excretion from the respiratory tract, appearing to have an expectorant effect. It shows a weak relaxing effect on the tracheal smooth muscle of isolated guinea pigs.
3. Effects on the circulatory system
Ginkgol diphenol at 500 mg/kg has a brief blood pressure-lowering effect in rabbits. Capillary permeability increases, most obviously in guinea pigs, followed by rats and rabbits. Rat hindlimb perfusion experiments show that ginkgol diphenol has a histamine-releasing effect, causing increased capillary permeability and leading to edema, and this effect is counteracted by chlorpheniramine.
4. Scavenging effect on free radicalsThe water-soluble components of the outer seed coat of ginkgo can scavenge superoxide free radicals produced by the xanthine oxidase system in the presence of oxygen and inhibit chemiluminescence; after oral administration to aged mice for 12 days, it can prevent the formation of age pigment granules in spleen tissue and make already-formed pigment granules become dispersed and reduced in number.
5. Other effects
Ginkgol A extracted from fresh white nuts has a paralyzing effect on isolated rabbit intestines, causes isolated uterus to contract, and has no effect on frog hearts.
White nut kernels contain a nitrogen-free neutral component; subcutaneous injection of 6 mg/13 g into mice can cause convulsions after half an hour, medullary paralysis, and then death from respiratory and cardiac arrest.
It was formerly said to contain hydrocyanic acid, which can relieve cough and cause poisoning, but the presence of hydrocyanic acid could not be detected; it has also been said that it cannot be proven that white nuts contain a substance that causes convulsions in mice. White nut flesh also has an astringent effect.
Frequent urination, enuresis
1. 5 aged white nuts and 3 snails (roasted dry), grind together into powder, and take with water;
2. 9 g white nut kernels, stir-fry and then decoct with water, add an appropriate amount of sugar, and take together with the soup, or stir-fry and grind into powder and take;3. 30 white nut kernels and 10 red dates, decoct to obtain a thick juice, add a little white sugar, and take before bed;
4. Stir-fry the ginkgo kernels until yellow in salt water, take 3 to 7 kernels every night at bedtime, swallowed with warm boiled water.
Leukorrhea in women
1. Take 15 grams each of ginkgo, lotus seed kernel and glutinous rice, grind into powder; take one black-bone chicken, remove the intestines, put the medicine inside the belly and stew until soft, eat on an empty stomach;
2. Take 30 grams of ginkgo, 30 grams of white cockscomb flower, 60 grams of dried mussel meat and 125 grams of pork spine, stew and eat;
3. Take 15 grams of ginkgo, 15 grams of fox nut (Euryale ferox), 15 grams of Chinese yam, 12 grams of Phellodendron bark and 10 grams of plantain seed, decoct in water and take;
4. Take 12 grams each of stir-fried ginkgo, Ailanthus root bark, cuttlefish bone and Chinese yam from Huaiqing, decoct in water and take.
Strangury (painful urination)
Take 9 grams of ginkgo tree root, 30 grams of pine tree root, 30 grams of pagoda tree root, 9 grams of daylily root and 9 grams of dwarf lilyturf root, one dose per day, decoct in water, add an appropriate amount of white sugar and take.
Blood in the stool
Take 30 grams of ginkgo and 15 grams of lotus rhizome node, decoct in water and take, or grind them together into powder and take in 3 divided doses.Urinary tract infection
Take several tens of ginkgo nuts, stew until cooked and take them together with the soup.
Nervous headache, dizziness
1. Take 60 grams of raw ginkgo, crack them open, decoct in water, decoct 3 times, take twice a day, finishing the decoction in 3 doses;
2. Stir-fry ginkgo kernels until cooked, grind into a fine powder, take 3 to 6 grams each time, mixed with decoction of red dates;
3. Take 3 raw ginkgo kernels, mash them, mix with boiling water and take, for 3 to 5 consecutive days.
Asthma
1. Take 7 ginkgo kernels, mash them, brew with boiling water, once a day, taken on an empty stomach in the early morning, for 3 consecutive months;
2. Take 30 grams of ginkgo kernels, add 125 grams of pork liver, decoct in water or mix with a little honey and take;
3. Take 9 to 12 grams of stir-fried ginkgo kernels, cook them in water, add an appropriate amount of granulated sugar or honey, and eat them together with the soup.
Medicinal properties of the Chinese herb ginkgo
Source
"Ri Yong Ben Cao" (Daily Use Materia Medica).
OriginIt is the seed of the ginkgo plant of the Ginkgoaceae family. Harvest the ripe fruit from October to November, pile it on the ground, or soak it in water, so that the fleshy outer seed coat rots (the outer seed coat may also be pounded off), wash clean, and dry in the sun.
Characteristics
The dried seed is obovate or elliptical, slightly flattened, 1.5 to 2.5 cm in long diameter and 1 to 1.5 cm in short diameter. The shell (seed coat) is white or grayish white, smooth, hard, with 2 ridge lines winding around the edge, gradually pointed at the top, and with a round dot-shaped seed stalk scar at the base. Inside the shell is a long, flat-round seed kernel, with a light brown thin membrane at one end when peeled off.
The seed kernel is light yellow or yellow-green, white inside, farinaceous. There is a gap in the center. Near the top there are 2 or more cotyledons. Slight odor, sweet taste with a slight bitterness and astringency. Those with a white shell, plump kernel and white interior are the best. Produced in most parts of the country. Mainly produced in Guangxi, Sichuan, Henan, Shandong, Hubei, Liaoning and other places.
Chemical composition
The seed contains a small amount of cyanogenic glycosides, gibberellin and kinetin-like substances. Two kinds of ribonuclease have also been isolated from the endosperm. The general composition is: protein 6.4, fat 2.4, carbohydrates 36%, calcium 10 mg, phosphorus 218 mg, iron 1 mg%, carotene 320 micrograms, riboflavin 50 micrograms%, as well as various amino acids.The outer seed coat contains the toxic components ginkgolic acid, hydroginkgolic acid, hydroginkgolinic acid, ginkgol and ginkgol alcohol. It also contains asparagine, formic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, caprylic acid, nonacosanol-10, etc.
The pollen contains various amino acids, glutamine, asparagine, protein, citric acid, sucrose, etc. The male flower contains raffinose up to 4% of fresh weight.
Toxicity
Ginkgo poisoning has been recorded since ancient times, and there have also been repeated reports in recent years. It mostly occurs in the autumn ginkgo ripening season, caused by eating too much stir-fried or boiled ginkgo. It is more common in children under 10 years old, and occasionally occurs in adults. The amount consumed by poisoned individuals ranges from 7 to 150 kernels for children, and from 40 to 300 kernels for adults.
The time of onset of poisoning varies from 1 to 12 hours after eating. The symptoms mainly involve the central nervous system, manifested as vomiting, coma, lethargy, fear, convulsions, or dullness of mind, elevated body temperature, difficulty breathing, cyanotic complexion, constricted or dilated pupils, slow reaction to light, as well as abdominal pain, diarrhea, etc., with elevated total white blood cell count and neutrophils.
A small number of cases also have peripheral nerve dysfunction, presenting as complete flaccid paralysis or mild paralysis of both lower limbs, with loss of both touch and pain sensation. Most patients recover after treatment, but a few die due to severe poisoning or delayed rescue.
Generally speaking, if one does not eat much and has a relatively good constitution, one will not be greatly affected by the toxicity of ginkgo. This is because the toxicity of ginkgo is closely related to age, physical constitution and the amount eaten. Therefore, the younger the age or the more consumed, the greater the threat posed by ginkgo.
Processing
Ginkgo kernel: Pick out impurities, remove the hard shell. Cooked ginkgo: Take the cleaned ginkgo, steam, stir-fry or roast until cooked, and remove the shell.
Nature and flavor
Sweet, bitter and astringent, neutral, toxic.
① "Yin Shan Zheng Yao": "Sweet and bitter in taste, non-toxic."② "Dian Nan Ben Cao": "Sweet in taste, neutral, cold in nature."
③ "Gang Mu" (Compendium of Materia Medica): "Sweet and bitter, neutral, astringent." "Eaten cooked, slightly bitter and mildly sweet, warm in nature, slightly toxic."
Meridian entry
Enters the lung and kidney meridians.
① "Gang Mu": "Enters the lung meridian."
② "Ben Cao Hui Yan": "Enters the hand taiyin and hand taiyang meridians."③ "Ben Cao Zai Xin": "Enters the heart, lung and kidney meridians."
Functions and indications
Astringes lung qi, relieves asthma and cough, stops leukorrhea and turbid discharge, reduces urination. Treats asthma, phlegm cough, leukorrhea, white turbid discharge, spermatorrhea, gonorrhea, frequent urination.
① "San Yuan Yan Shou Shu": "Eaten raw, it dispels the effects of alcohol."
② "Dian Nan Ben Cao": "For large sores that do not come to a head, steam ginkgo kernel together with glutinous rice and make honey pills; pound with walnut into a paste and take it, to treat dysphagia and regurgitation, white turbid discharge and cold strangury; pound and apply to the temples to stop headache and eye pain, and also apply to unnamed swelling and toxic sores."
③ "Pin Hui Jing Yao": "Eaten after roasting until cooked, it stops frequent urination."
④ "Yi Xue Ru Men": "Clears turbid qi of the lung and stomach, transforms phlegm, relieves asthma and stops cough."
⑤ "Gang Mu": "Eaten cooked, it warms the lung and boosts qi, relieves asthma and cough, reduces urination and stops white turbid discharge; eaten raw, it reduces phlegm, disinfects and kills parasites; (pounded and) applied to the nose, face, hands and feet, it removes acne, dark spots, wrinkles and scabies, malnutrition-induced sores and pubic lice."⑥ "Ben Cao Zai Xin": "Tonifies qi and nourishes the heart, benefits the kidney and nourishes yin, stops cough and eliminates restlessness, promotes tissue regeneration and muscle growth, discharges pus and draws out toxins, and eliminates sores, scabies, deep-rooted carbuncles and tumors."
⑦ "Ben Cao Bian Du": "Upward it astringes the lung metal to relieve cough and reverse qi; downward it moves damp turbidity and transforms phlegm and drool."
⑧ "Xian Dai Shi Yong Zhong Yao": "The kernel treats asthma, dizziness, tinnitus, chronic strangury with turbid urine and leukorrhea in women. The fruit flesh, pounded into a poultice, has a vesicant effect; soaked in rapeseed oil for more than one year, it is used for pulmonary tuberculosis."
⑨ "Shan Dong Zhong Yao": "Treats spermatorrhea and enuresis."
Usage and dosage
Internal use: decoct in water, 1.5 to 3 qian; pound for juice or make into pills or powders. External use: pound and apply.
Cautions
Contraindicated for those with excess pathogenic factors.Supplementary formulas
① "Ri Yong Ben Cao": "Eating too much causes qi blockage and stirs wind. Children eating too much become dizzy and drowsy, develop convulsions and malnutrition. Eaten with eel, it causes soft wind (numbness and weakness)."
② "Gang Mu": "Eating too much causes abdominal distension."
① To treat asthma: 21 ginkgo nuts (shelled, crushed, stir-fried until yellow), 3 qian of ephedra, 2 qian of perilla seed, 1 qian of licorice, 3 qian of coltsfoot flower, 1.5 qian of apricot kernel (peeled, tips removed), 3 qian of mulberry bark (honey-roasted), 1.5 qian of skullcap (lightly stir-fried), 3 qian of prepared pinellia (if unavailable, use pinellia soaked seven times in licorice decoction and used without the navel). Add 3 cups of water to the above, decoct down to 2 cups, divide into 2 doses, one cup each, taken at any time. ("She Sheng Zhong Miao Fang" Dingchuan Tang)
② To treat nocturnal emission: 3 ginkgo nuts. Boil in wine and eat, for 4 to 5 consecutive days. ("Hu Nan Yao Wu Zhi")
③ To treat red and white leukorrhea with deficiency and exhaustion of the lower origin: 5 qian each of ginkgo, lotus seed kernel and glutinous rice. Grind into powder, take one black-bone chicken, remove the intestines, fill with the medicine and stew until soft, eat on an empty stomach. ("Bin Hu Ji Jian Fang")
④ To treat diarrhea in children: 2 ginkgo nuts and 1 egg. Peel the ginkgo and grind into powder, break a hole in the egg, put in the ginkgo powder, cook until done and eat. (Inner Mongolia "Zhong Cao Yao Xin Yi Liao Fa Zi Liao Xuan Bian")
⑤ To treat various kinds of intestinal wind and visceral toxin: 49 raw ginkgo nuts. Remove the shell and membrane, grind thoroughly, add the powder of Bai Yao Jian, and make pills the size of a bullet. Take 3 pills each time, chewed finely on an empty stomach and swallowed with rice water. ("Zheng Zhi Yao Jue")
⑥ To treat dental caries: chew one raw ginkgo nut after each meal, which is effective. ("Yong Lei Qian Fang")⑦ To treat rosacea of the nose and face: ginkgo and wine lees. Chew them together thoroughly, apply at night and wash off in the morning. ("Yi Lin Ji Yao")
⑧ To treat ringworm sores on the head and face: cut raw ginkgo kernels into pieces and rub repeatedly for effect. ("Mi Chuan Jing Yan Fang")
⑨ To treat genital gan sores: pound raw ginkgo and apply it. ("Ji Ji Xian Fang")
⑩ To treat ulcerated breast abscess: half a jin of ginkgo. Grind 4 liang and take with wine, grind 4 liang and apply. ("Jiu Ji Yi Fang")
Discussions by various authors
1. "Gang Mu": Ginkgo first became famous in the early Song dynasty, but those who compiled materia medica did not include it, and in recent times it is also sometimes used in prescriptions. Its qi is thin and its flavor is thick, astringent in nature and gathering; it benefits lung qi, relieves asthma and cough, reduces urination, and can also kill parasites and disinfect. However, eating too much makes its gathering action excessive, causing qi blockage, abdominal distension, dizziness and drowsiness. Therefore "Wu Lei Xiang Gan Zhi" says ginkgo can intoxicate people, and "San Yuan Yan Shou Shu" says that formerly there were starving people who ate ginkgo in place of rice until full, and all died the next day. Eaten cooked, it warms the lung and boosts qi, relieves asthma and cough, reduces urination and stops white turbid discharge; eaten raw, it reduces phlegm, disinfects and kills parasites; (pounded and) applied to the nose, face, hands and feet, it removes rash blisters, wrinkles and scabies, malnutrition sores and pubic lice.
2. "San Yuan Yan Shou Shu": Eaten raw, it dispels the effects of alcohol.
3. "Dian Nan Ben Cao": For large sores that do not come to a head, steam ginkgo kernel together with glutinous rice and make honey pills; pound with walnut into a paste and take it, to treat dysphagia and regurgitation, white turbid discharge and cold strangury; pound and apply to the temples to stop headache and eye pain, and also apply to unnamed swelling and toxic sores.4. "Pin Hui Jing Yao": Eaten after roasting until cooked, it stops frequent urination.
5. "Yi Xue Ru Men": Clears turbid qi of the lung and stomach, transforms phlegm, relieves asthma and stops cough.
6. "Ben Cao Zai Xin": Tonifies qi and nourishes the heart, benefits the kidney and nourishes yin, stops cough and eliminates restlessness, promotes tissue regeneration and muscle growth, discharges pus and draws out toxins, and eliminates sores, scabies, deep-rooted carbuncles and tumors.
7. "Ben Cao Bian Du": Upward it astringes the lung metal to relieve cough and reverse qi; downward it moves damp turbidity and transforms phlegm and drool.
8. "Xian Dai Shi Yong Zhong Yao": The kernel treats asthma, dizziness, tinnitus, chronic strangury with turbid urine and leukorrhea in women. The fruit flesh, pounded into a poultice, has a vesicant effect; soaked in rapeseed oil for more than one year, it is used for pulmonary tuberculosis.
9. "Shan Dong Zhong Yao": Treats spermatorrhea and enuresis.
Folk dietary remedies with ginkgo
Ginkgo, also known as bai guo, is the ripe seed of the ginkgo plant of the Ginkgoaceae family. Its taste is sweet, bitter and astringent, neutral in nature; toxic. It enters the lung meridian. It has the effects of astringing the lung and relieving asthma, stopping leukorrhea and reducing urination. It mainly treats profuse phlegm with asthma and cough, leukorrhea and white turbid discharge, enuresis, frequent urination, spermatorrhea, unnamed swelling and toxic sores, ringworm and sores, etc.
Ginkgo honey water
Take 10 grams of ginkgo, add water and cook until done, then add an appropriate amount of honey; drink the honey water every night before going to bed, and eat the ginkgo kernels as well. It can treat cough and asthma.
Ginkgo, olive and rock sugar waterTake 20 ginkgo nuts, 10 fresh olives and an appropriate amount of rock sugar. Remove the outer shells of the ginkgo, soak and remove the inner skin and core; remove the pits of the olives; put them together in a clay pot, add 750 ml of clear water, simmer over low heat down to 250 ml, remove the residue and take the liquid. Drink frequently as a tea substitute. This tea has the effect of clearing the lung and transforming phlegm, and can be used as an adjunctive treatment for lung cancer.
Ginkgo and Chinese yam powder
Take equal parts of ginkgo (stir-fried until cooked) and Chinese yam. Bake dry and grind into a fine powder, mix evenly. Take 40 grams per day, divided into 3 to 4 doses, taken with rice water or warm boiled water. It is suitable for leukorrhea in women, strangury with turbid urine, dizziness and other conditions.
Ginkgo and winter melon seed drink
Take 10 ginkgo nuts and 30 grams of winter melon seeds, decoct in water and take warm. It is suitable for excessive leukorrhea.
Ginkgo porridge
Take 10 grams of ginkgo, remove the core and mash; take 100 grams of japonica rice, add water and cook together into porridge; when the porridge is nearly done, add an appropriate amount of white sugar and eat. It is used for cough, asthma, phlegm rattling in the throat; or spermatorrhea and enuresis in men, and weakness, irregular menstruation and incessant leukorrhea in women.
Ginkgo, peanut and red date soupTake 15 grams of ginkgo, 30 grams of red dates, 30 grams of peanut kernels and 30 grams of rock sugar. Wash the above medicines, add an appropriate amount of water, and decoct until cooked. Eat once a day. This product has the effects of strengthening the spleen and boosting qi, warming the lung and transforming phlegm. It is suitable for chronic bronchitis.
Ginkgo paste
Take 120 grams each of ginkgo, fine tea leaves and walnut kernels. Lightly stir-fry the fine tea leaves and grind into a fine powder; mash the ginkgo and walnut kernels, add 250 grams of honey, and simmer in a pot into a paste. Take 1 teaspoon each time, 2 to 3 times a day. It treats cough with phlegm of many years; or is used for chronic bronchitis, cough with thick phlegm, panting as if asthmatic, and insufficient lung qi.
Ginkgo stewed black-bone chicken
Take 15 grams each of ginkgo, lotus seed and glutinous rice, 5 grams of pepper, and 1 cleaned black-bone chicken. Grind the 4 items including ginkgo into powder, put them into the belly of the cleaned black-bone chicken, and tie firmly with thread; add water and a little ginger and table salt; simmer over low heat until cooked and soft. Eat in 3 to 4 divided portions. It is suitable for women with red and white leukorrhea due to deficiency of both spleen and kidney, with a clear, thin and profuse discharge.
Ginkgo egg
Take 2 ginkgo nuts and 1 egg. Wash the egg, wash the ginkgo and remove the shell. Break five small holes in one end of the egg, put in the ginkgo, seal the small holes with paper, steam until cooked and take, once a day. This product has the effects of astringing lung qi and stopping leukorrhea and turbid discharge. It is suitable for increased leukorrhea.
Can pregnant women eat ginkgo?
Ginkgo has rich nutritional value and medicinal effects, but for pregnant women, although this food is not something that cannot be eaten, one must pay attention to the amount and the method of eating it! So why exactly is ginkgo a food to be eaten with caution for pregnant women? Let us learn about it together now!
The flavonoid glycosides and bilobalide in ginkgo kernels also have special preventive and therapeutic effects on cerebral thrombosis, senile dementia, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary heart disease, arteriosclerosis, and decline in brain function. Ginkgo is slightly toxic; besides containing starch, protein and fat, it also contains hydrocyanic acid, and generally the green embryo part is the most toxic.
Because ginkgo contains a certain amount of cyanogenic glycosides, taking it during pregnancy can very easily poison the fetal nerves, and because the differentiation of the fetus in the mother's body depends on the normal development of its nerves, it is very likely to affect the developing embryo, so pregnant women should eat it with caution.
The correct way for pregnant women to eat ginkgo: one must eat it thoroughly cooked, and must not eat much.Ginkgo is the ginkgo fruit we often see; it is rich in starch, sugar and protein, very nutritious, and can also be used as medicine, making it the first choice for many people to maintain their health.
Most people know that ginkgo has a slight toxicity and cannot be eaten much; eating too much causes poisoning. However, how much is appropriate to eat? And can pregnant women not eat it at all?
In traditional Chinese pregnancy contraindications, ginkgo is not included, which shows it is not a major taboo. However, ginkgo is ultimately a medicine, used to invigorate blood and free the collaterals, and "every medicine is three parts toxic", so pregnant women had better not eat it. Lu Baoheng, director of the Provincial Reproductive Health Center, says that pregnant women who have eaten ginkgo should relax, treat it as if it never happened, put down the burden, and eat, drink and sleep as they should.
"Ancient medical books indeed record poisoning caused by eating too much ginkgo, but so far, there is no authoritative confirmation that pregnant women eating ginkgo will have adverse effects on the fetus." The Western medicine view is even clearer: "Pregnant women do not need to be too meticulous about food; as long as they do not eat much, it generally will not affect the fetus. There is no need to be cautious and trembling with fear.
In summary, the daily diet of pregnant women requires special attention; pregnant women themselves and their families should prepare well in this regard, eat more foods beneficial to calming the fetus, and eat less or even completely avoid foods harmful to the baby, so as to benefit the baby's healthy growth.
"San Yuan Yan Shou Shu": "Eaten raw, it dispels the effects of alcohol."
"Dian Nan Ben Cao": "For large sores that do not come to a head, steam ginkgo kernel together with glutinous rice and make honey pills; pound with walnut into a paste and take it, to treat dysphagia and regurgitation, white turbid discharge and cold strangury; pound and apply to the temples to stop headache and eye pain, and also apply to unnamed swelling and toxic sores."
"Pin Hui Jing Yao": "Eaten after roasting until cooked, it stops frequent urination.""Introduction to Medicine": "Clears turbid qi from the lungs and stomach, transforms phlegm, calms wheezing, and stops cough."
"Compendium of Materia Medica": "Eaten cooked, it warms the lungs and boosts qi, calms wheezing and cough, reduces urination, and stops white turbidity; eaten raw, it reduces phlegm, disinfects, and kills parasites; (pounded and) applied to the nose, face, hands, and feet, it removes acne, dark spots, wrinkles, as well as scabies, ringworm, and gan ni, and pubic lice."
"Bencao Zaixin": "Supplements qi and nourishes the heart, benefits the kidneys and nourishes yin, stops cough and eliminates restlessness, promotes tissue regeneration and muscle growth, drains pus and draws out toxins, and dissolves sores, scabies, and ju tumors."
"Bencao Biandu": "Upward it astringes the lung metal and eliminates rebellious cough; downward it moves damp turbidity and transforms phlegm-fluids."
"Modern Practical Chinese Materia Medica": "The kernel treats asthma, dizziness, tinnitus, chronic strangury with turbidity, and leukorrhea in women. The fruit pulp, pounded into a poultice, has a blistering effect; soaked in vegetable oil for over a year, it is used for pulmonary tuberculosis."
"Shandong Chinese Materia Medica": "Treats seminal emission and enuresis."
"Sichuan Chinese Materia Medica Journal": For white ginkgo nuts, children aged 3-5 who take 30-40 nuts at one time are prone to poisoning. If poisoning occurs, one fen of musk dissolved in warm water can be taken as an antidote. Also, those with wheezing, cough, and thick phlegm may experience difficulty expectorating after taking it, so it is advisable to combine it with heat-clearing medicines.
"Shanghai Common Chinese Herbal Medicines": Eating too many white ginkgo nuts causes poisoning, which can present as headache, fever, cramps, restlessness, vomiting, and difficulty breathing. For emergency treatment, use two liang of raw licorice, decocted and taken; or use one liang of white ginkgo shell, decocted and taken.
Dietary contraindications for white ginkgo nuts
White ginkgo nuts contain ginkgolic acid, ginkgol and other substances, which have a certain toxicity, mainly distributed in the green embryo and seed coat. The general toxic dose is 10-50 nuts, and poisoning symptoms such as vomiting and dizziness occur 1-12 hours after ingestion. Therefore, the following points should be noted when eating white ginkgo nuts:
Never eat them raw. The toxins in white ginkgo nuts weaken when exposed to heat, so white ginkgo nuts must always be thoroughly cooked.
Children should best not eat them or eat only a little. The younger the age, the more prone to poisoning; infants must not eat them, children aged 3-5 must not exceed 5 nuts, and about 10 nuts is suitable for adults.Remove the skin and embryo before eating. The toxins in white ginkgo nuts are mainly concentrated in the embryo and seed coat, which must be removed before eating, and sprouted white ginkgo nuts must not be eaten.
Do not eat them together with aspirin or anticoagulant drugs. White ginkgo nuts have an anticoagulant effect, and taking them with these similar drugs may cause uncontrollable bleeding and worsen the condition.
People with the following conditions should not eat them or should eat them with caution. Patients after surgery, pregnant women, and women during menstruation should avoid taking ginkgo leaf preparations; in addition, they are not suitable for people with a weak constitution.
Once poisoning symptoms appear, simply decocting 30g of white ginkgo shell in water and drinking it will suffice.
Suitable groups for white ginkgo nuts
White ginkgo nuts can generally be eaten by anyone, and are especially suitable for girls with leukorrhea due to a weak constitution, used to treat white turbidity and leukorrhea. Whether it is deficiency and decline of the lower yuan with clear, thin leukorrhea, or damp-heat pouring downward with yellow, turbid leukorrhea, they can all be used with appropriate formula modifications according to the pattern.
People with frequent urination can also eat white ginkgo nuts, which can treat red and white leukorrhea, white turbidity in the urine, frequent urination, and enuresis.The ginkgolic acid and ginkgol contained in white ginkgo nuts have been experimentally proven to have bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects and can be used to treat infectious diseases of the respiratory tract, so people with respiratory tract infections can eat them.
People with Alzheimer's disease, high blood pressure, and coronary heart disease can eat white ginkgo nuts, because white ginkgo nuts can nourish yin, beautify the face, and resist aging, dilate microvessels, promote blood circulation, and make the skin and face rosy, resisting aging.
People with pulmonary tuberculosis can eat them, which helps improve the condition; after eating, the patient's fever, night sweats, cough, wheezing, hemoptysis, and poor appetite may show varying degrees of improvement.
Ginkgo nuts have a certain toxicity, so do not eat them raw, and do not eat them in large amounts. In ginkgo poisoning, symptoms occur 1-12 hours after eating the nuts.
The main symptoms are: nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, and cyanosis. In addition, there are obvious signs of central nervous system damage: headache, extreme fear, screaming, convulsions triggered by slight sounds and stimulation, loss of consciousness, or coma. In severe cases, it can lead to respiratory paralysis and death. Symptoms progress rapidly, and emergency rescue treatment is required.
Chinese medicine emergency treatment: (1) 100 grams of raw licorice, decocted in water and taken; (2) 50 grams of white ginkgo shell, decocted in water and taken; (3) 30 grams of white ginkgo bark, decocted in water and taken; (4) 0.3 grams of musk, taken with warm water.
Conclusion: Through the content introduced above, everyone must have gained a clear understanding of this common food, white ginkgo nuts! Although white ginkgo nuts are very beneficial to our health, what needs attention is their toxicity. Therefore, when eating white ginkgo nuts, we must pay attention to the proper way to eat them!
Ginkgo Ginkgo biloba L. Ginkgo illustrated guide: How to grow ginkgo / How to propagate ginkgo
Ginkgo profileGinkgo Ginkgo biloba L.
Ginkgo cultivation methods and precautions Ginkgo introduction Ginkgo(Scientific name: Ginkgo biloba), also known aswhite ginkgo nut、Gongsun treeetc., it belongs to the gymnosperms, and all other plants in the same division have become extinct, so it is called a "relict plant." Ginkgo takes more than twenty years from planting to fruiting, and only after forty years can it bear fruit in large quantities. It can live to over a thousand years, making it the longevity star among trees. The ginkgo sapling is tall in stature with a graceful posture, making it an ideal tree species for landscaping and scenic gardens. It is listed as one of China's four great longevity ornamental tree species (pine, cypress, pagoda tree, and ginkgo). Ginkgo seeds are rich in nutrients and have natural health benefits; long-term consumption can delay aging and prolong life, and in the Song Dynasty they were listed as a royal tribute.
Ginkgo is a deciduous tree that blooms in April, matures in October, and its seeds are orange-yellow drupe-like. Ginkgo is the oldest relict plant among extant seed plants. All other plants in the same class have become extinct. It is known as a living fossil, originating hundreds of millions of years ago, and the ginkgoes surviving today are rare and scattered, with old trees over a hundred years old no longer common. Varieties and cultivars include: yellow-leaf ginkgo, tower-shaped ginkgo, split-leaf ginkgo, weeping ginkgo, variegated-leaf ginkgo, and 26 others. The main production areas are Shandong, Anhui, Pizhou in Jiangsu, the Changmei Flower Base in Jiangsu, Henan, and other places.
Morphological characteristics of ginkgo
The ginkgo tree, also known as the white fruit tree, grows relatively slowly and has an extremely long lifespan. Under natural conditions, it takes more than twenty years from planting to fruiting, and only after forty years can it bear fruit in large quantities, hence the alias "Gongsun tree," meaning "the grandfather plants it and the grandson eats it." It is the longevity star among trees and was called "white fruit" in ancient times. The ginkgo tree has ornamental, economic, and medicinal value, and every part is a "treasure." The ginkgo tree is the oldest gymnosperm remaining after the Quaternary glaciation and is one of the most precious tree species in the world, thus regarded as a "living fossil" in the plant kingdom, with ornamental value.
Biological characteristicsThe ginkgo tree is the only medium-sized deciduous broadleaf tree among the gymnosperms. It can grow to 25-40 meters tall, with a diameter at breast height of up to 4 meters. The bark of young trees is relatively smooth and light gray, while the bark of large trees is grayish-brown with irregular longitudinal fissures on the surface. It has long shoots and slow-growing spur-like short shoots. It has a relatively slender crown, and the branches are somewhat irregular.
Ginkgo leaves are very special among seed plants, possessing broadleaf-type leaves that general gymnosperms do not have. The leaves are alternate, radially scattered on long shoots and clustered in groups of 3-5 on short shoots, with slender petioles, fan-shaped, light green on both sides, with more or less notches or 2 lobes at the broad upper margin, 5-8 cm wide. The veins are the same shape as the leaf, with numerous forked parallel veinlets. Some leaves grow at the tips of branches, scattered one on each side, while others grow in a cluster, with many leaves in one place.
Ginkgo is dioecious, but very few ginkgoes are monoecious. The strobili are solitary in the leaf axils of short shoots; male strobili are catkin-like, with numerous stamens, each having 2 anthers; female strobili have long stalks, and the stalk end usually forks into two (rarely 3-5 forks), with each fork bearing 1 ovule with a disc-shaped collar, and usually 1 ovule develops into a mature seed. Ginkgo is a gymnosperm, with only the structure of seeds, and has not yet evolved the fruit of angiosperms, but the seed coat of ginkgo seeds is well developed and looks no different from the fruit of angiosperms. The seeds are drupe-like, with long stalks, pendulous, elliptical, oblong-obovate, ovate, or nearly spherical. Ginkgo seeds are 1.5-2 cm, enclosed in a 2-3 cm brownish-yellow seed coat. The aril is fleshy, covered with a white bloom, and light yellow or orange-yellow when mature; the seed coat is bony, white, usually with 2 (rarely 3) longitudinal ridges; the inner seed coat is membranous, light reddish-brown. The seeds of ginkgo are called white ginkgo nuts, somewhat like apricots, and because they contain a lot of butyric acid, they smell like spoiled cream. Some people are also allergic to the components in the fruit pulp, developing itching and blisters, and need to wear gloves when washing the fruit. The seeds can be peeled out, cooked, and eaten, and are a traditional food in China and Japan.
General characteristicsLeaves: fan-shaped, with petioles; leaves on long shoots mostly have two lobes, while leaves on short shoots often have wavy notches. Sporophyll strobili: unisexual, dioecious. Microsporophyll strobili: catkin-like, borne in the axils of scales at the tip of short shoots. Microsporophylls have short stalks, and the stalk end often has 2 pendulous microsporangia. Microspores: oblong, with a sunken distal groove along the longitudinal axis, and the outer wall has fine protrusions. Megasporophyll strobili: simple, usually with a long stalk, and the stalk end has 2 ring-shaped megasporophylls, specially called a collar, each bearing 1 orthotropous ovule. Seeds: seeds nearly spherical, the seed coat differentiated into 3 layers, and the embryo has 2 cotyledons. Chromosomes: x=12.Primitive characteristicsGinkgo has many relatively primitive characteristics. Its vein pattern is "dichotomously forked venation," which is unique among gymnosperms but very common in ferns. When its male flower pollen germinates, it produces only two motile sperm with cilia. This characteristic is found among gymnosperms only in cycads, and is also very common in ferns. This shows that ginkgo is a more ancient plant than trees such as pines, firs, and cypresses. Therefore, botanically it is classified as one class, one order, one family, one genus, and one species.Identifying characteristicsDeciduous tree, leaves fan-shaped, scattered on long shoots, clustered on short shoots. Strobili unisexual, dioecious. Seeds drupe-like. It is a large deciduous tree with a diameter at breast height of up to 4 meters. The bark of young trees is nearly smooth and light gray, while the bark of large trees is grayish-brown with irregular longitudinal fissures, with long shoots and slow-growing spur-like short shoots. Leaves alternate, radially scattered on long shoots and clustered in groups of 3-5 on short shoots, with slender petioles, fan-shaped, light green on both sides, with more or less notches or 2 lobes at the broad upper margin, 5-8 (-15) cm wide, with numerous forked parallel veinlets. Dioecious, rarely monoecious, strobili solitary in the leaf axils of short shoots; male strobili catkin-like, with numerous stamens, each having 2 anthers; female strobili have long stalks, and the stalk end usually forks into two (rarely 3-5 forks), with each fork bearing 1 ovule with a disc-shaped collar, and usually 1 ovule develops into a mature seed. Seeds drupe-like, with long stalks, pendulous, elliptical, oblong-obovate, ovate, or nearly spherical, 2.5-3.5 cm long, 1.5-2 cm in diameter; aril fleshy, covered with a white bloom, light yellow or orange-yellow when mature; seed coat bony, white, usually with 2 (rarely 3) longitudinal ridges; inner seed coat membranous. The distinguishing characteristics of male and female plants are shown below for reference: Male plant 1. The angle between the main branches and the trunk is small; the crown is somewhat slender and forms relatively late. 2. The leaf lobes are relatively deep, often exceeding the middle of the leaf. 3. The autumn leaf color change period is relatively late, and leaf fall is relatively late. 4. The short shoots bearing male flowers are relatively long (about 1-4 cm). Female plant 1. The angle between the main branches and the trunk is relatively large; the crown is broad and large, with a relatively flat top, and forms relatively early. 2. The leaf lobes are relatively shallow, not reaching the middle of the leaf. 3. The autumn leaf color change period and abscission period are both relatively early. 4. The short shoots bearing female flowers are relatively short (about 1-2 cm). The wood is light yellow. The grain is dense. It is highly elastic and does not warp or crack. It can be used for construction, furniture, utensils, carving, drawing boards, and other crafts. The seed kernel is used medicinally and has the functions of clearing heat, astringing the lungs, calming wheezing, stopping cough, and promoting qi and blood circulation, and can also be stir-fried or eaten as a sweet. However, it should not be eaten in large amounts to prevent poisoning. The outer seed coat can be used as a pesticide and has the effect of preventing and controlling plant diseases and insect pests. [3] It can generally be eaten by anyone, and is especially suitable for people with frequent urination and girls with leukorrhea due to a weak constitution. Those with excess pathogens should not take it. Eating it raw or stir-fried in excess can cause poisoning, and poisoning from accidental ingestion by children is especially common. Each is the size of an apricot pit, white as jade, and its taste is sweet, bitter, and astringent; overeating can easily cause diarrhea. Ginkgo trees are widely used in landscaping, especially in the north, as ginkgo trees have characteristics that make them very suitable as street trees. They do not suffer from diseases or insect pests, have strong cold resistance, do not produce waste during the growing period, and have a beautiful and dignified tree shape.
Ecological habits of ginkgo
Ginkgo has a long lifespan, and China has ancient trees over 3000 years old. It is suitable for growing in subtropical monsoon regions with relatively superior water and heat conditions. The soil is yellow earth or yellow-brown earth, with a pH value of 5-6. Initial growth is relatively slow, and it has strong coppicing ability. Female plants generally begin to bear fruit after about 20 years, and 500-year-old large trees can still bear fruit normally. It generally sprouts and unfolds leaves from late March to early April, blooms from early to mid-April, seeds mature from late September to early October, and leaves fall from late October to November.
Ginkgo trees are mainly distributed in Shandong, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Hebei, Hubei, Henan, Gansu, and other places. The largest ginkgo cultivation base in the country is Tancheng County, Shandong Province.
Wild ginkgo is distributed in subtropical monsoon regions with relatively superior water and heat conditions. The annual average temperature is 15°C, the extreme minimum temperature can reach -10.6°C, and the annual precipitation is 1500--1800 mm. The soil is yellow earth or yellow-brown earth, with a pH value of 5--6. Associated plants mainly include Japanese cedar, golden larch, torreya, Chinese fir, blueberry tree, sweetgum, Tianmu litsea, emmenopterys, populus adenopoda, daphniphyllum, moso bamboo, and others.
Ginkgo has a long lifespan and is suitable for growing in subtropical monsoon regions with relatively superior water and heat conditions. It generally blooms from early to mid-April, seeds mature from late September to early October, and leaves fall from late October to November. There are ancient trees over 3000 years old. Initial growth is relatively slow, and the lifespan is long. Female plants generally begin to bear fruit after about 20 years, and 500-year-old large trees can still bear fruit normally. It generally sprouts and unfolds leaves from late March to early April, blooms from early to mid-April, seeds mature from late September to early October, and leaves fall from late October to November.
Distribution area of ginkgo. In nature, ginkgo is only distributed in the temperate and subtropical climate zones of China. In China, ginkgo is mainly distributed in Shandong, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Hunan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan, and other provinces and municipalities, with a small amount also distributed in Taiwan, China. Natural resource survey personnel also found in the deep mountain valleys of Hubei and Sichuan that ginkgo grows alongside relict plants such as dawn redwood and dove tree. In summary, the vertical distribution span of ginkgo is relatively large.
PrimitiveGinkgo first appeared 345 million years ago in the Carboniferous period. It was once widely distributed in Europe, Asia, and the Americas in the Northern Hemisphere. During the Mesozoic Jurassic, ginkgo was widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, and it began to decline in the late Cretaceous. By 500,000 years ago, the Quaternary glaciation occurred, the Earth suddenly became cold, and the vast majority of ginkgo plants were on the verge of extinction, becoming extinct in most areas of Europe, North America, and Asia. Only China, with its superior natural conditions, preserved it miraculously. Therefore, scientists call it a "living fossil" and "the panda of the plant kingdom." Wild ginkgo survives in Huixian County, Gansu, northern Xuzhou in Jiangsu (Pizhou City), the Linyi (Tancheng County) area in southern Shandong, and the mountainous areas of western Zhejiang in China. Zhejiang Tianmu Mountain, Wuduhe Town in Yichang City, Hubei, Anlu City in Hubei, and a few surrounding townships from Haiyang Township in Lingchuan County, Guilin to Gaoshang Town in Xing'an County, as well as the Dabie Mountains and Shennongjia, all have wild and semi-wild ginkgo communities. Due to the scarcity of individuals and dioecy, if strict protection and promotion of natural regeneration are not carried out, the remaining forests will be replaced. The distribution of ginkgo mostly belongs to artificially cultivated areas, mainly cultivated in large quantities in China, France, and South Carolina in the United States. There is no doubt that ginkgo abroad was introduced directly or indirectly from China.ExtantGinkgo is distributed in large quantities in countries and regions such as China, Japan, Korea, South Korea, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the United States, France, and Russia. The natural geographical distribution range of ginkgo is very wide. From the perspective of horizontal natural distribution, ginkgo near the 30° north latitude line has the longest east-west distribution distance. As this latitude increases or decreases, the east-west distribution distance of ginkgo gradually shortens. The higher the latitude, the more ginkgo distribution tends toward the eastern coast, and the lower the latitude, the more ginkgo distribution tends toward the plateau and mountainous areas of the southwest.
In China, ginkgo is mainly distributed in temperate and subtropical climate zones, with marginal distribution "reaching Shenyang in Liaoning Province in the north, Guangzhou in Guangdong Province in the south, Nantou in Taiwan, China in the southeast, Qamdo in the Tibet Autonomous Region in the west, and Putuo Island in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province in the east," spanning 21°30' to 41°46' north latitude and 97° to 125° east longitude, covering 22 provinces (autonomous regions) and 3 municipalities directly under the central government. China's ginkgo resources are mainly distributed in more than 60 counties and cities in Shandong, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Hunan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan, and other provinces, with a small amount also distributed in Taiwan, China. From the perspective of resource distribution quantity, Shandong, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Anhui, Guangxi, Hubei, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Guizhou, and other provinces have the most, and the resource distribution in each province is also uneven, mainly concentrated in some counties or cities, such as Huixian County in Gansu, Taixing, Xinghua, Rugao, Hai'an, Dongtai, Dafeng, Xinyi, Pizhou, and Wu County in Jiangsu, Xincun in Tancheng County, Tai'an City, and Yantai City in Shandong Province, Wuduhe Town in Yichang City, Hubei, Luoyang Town and Huayuan Village in Hedian Town in Suizhou, Hubei, and Lingchuan and Xing'an in Guangxi. Many ginkgo experts, after textual research, believe that naturally reproducing ancient ginkgo communities have been found in remote mountainous areas such as Zhejiang Tianmu Mountain, Hubei Dahong Mountain, Shennongjia, and Yunnan Tengchong. They are extremely precious cultural heritage and natural landscapes, and play an important role in improving the surrounding ecological environment, studying biodiversity, and ensuring the sustainable use of ginkgo genetic resources. Natural resource survey personnel also found in the deep mountain valleys of Hubei and Sichuan that ginkgo grows alongside relict plants such as dawn redwood and dove tree.
China is not only the hometown of ginkgo, but also the country that cultivated, utilized, and researched ginkgo the earliest and with the richest results. Throughout history, whether in ginkgo cultivation area or ginkgo production, China ranks first in the world. Judging from the age of extant ancient ginkgo trees, ginkgo was already being planted in China between the Shang and Zhou dynasties.
The vertical distribution span of ginkgo is relatively large. Well-growing ancient ginkgo trees have been found from the eastern plains at altitudes of several meters to tens of meters to the southwestern mountainous areas at around 3000 m. For example, Taixing in Jiangsu has an altitude of about 5 m, Wu County has an altitude of about 300 m, Tancheng in Shandong has an altitude of about 40 m, Dujiangyan in Sichuan has an altitude of 1600 m, Gansu is 1500 m (Lanzhou), Yunnan is 2000 m (Kunming), and Tibet is 3000 m (Qamdo). However, these distribution conditions do not indicate that ginkgo can be distributed in all areas within such a vertical span, because in addition to latitude and altitude, terrain and soil are also very important factors affecting the natural distribution of ginkgo. For example, soil water content, salt content, sunshine, and extreme temperatures all directly limit the development of ginkgo. In the marginal areas of ginkgo's natural distribution, due to factors such as terrain, a microclimate favorable to ginkgo growth may appear, and ginkgo can still grow very well. Similarly, within the range of ginkgo's natural distribution area, due to differences in microclimate or terrain, soil, and water and heat conditions, there are areas unsuitable for ginkgo growth, so within the range of the natural distribution area, ginkgo is mostly distributed in patches. From the perspective of climatic factors, the vertical distribution is mainly concentrated in the altitude range with an annual average temperature of 8-20 degrees and an absolute minimum temperature not lower than -20 degrees.
Main production areasXincun in Tancheng County, Shandong Province; Rugao City, Taixing City, Pizhou City, and others in Jiangsu Province. Among them, the ginkgo nuts of Taixing City, Jiangsu Province, are called "Dafozhi" for their large size and good variety; Tancheng Jinzhui, Maling, Tancheng Yuanling, and others in Tancheng County, Shandong Province. Taixing's annual ginkgo production accounts for one third of the country's. Tancheng in Shandong is the main production area for ginkgo seedlings and ginkgo leaves. "Taixing Dafozhi white ginkgo nut" was designated by the 1999 Kunming World Horticultural Exposition as the only "pollution-free white ginkgo nut" with permanent naming rights, and in 2007 it was awarded the titles of green food, organic food, and geographical indication product. Tancheng County, Shandong Province, has a complete range of tree specifications and is the main supply base for landscaping seedlings in major cities across China. By 2011, the ginkgo area in Huixian County, Gansu Province, reached 300,000 mu, making it the number one ginkgo county in the northwest. Haiyang Township in Lingchuan County, Guangxi, ranks first in the country in per capita ginkgo quantity and production, truly the number one ginkgo township. Its extant ancient ginkgo stock is also rare in the country.
Medicinal or dietary value of ginkgo
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Edible value
Ginkgo, also known as white ginkgo nut, belongs to the dried fruit category. Among the many dried fruits, ginkgo ranks third in economic value. The value of white ginkgo nuts is mainly reflected in food and medicine. China's white ginkgo nut production accounts for 90% of the world's total production. Ginkgo leaves and nuts are important products for earning foreign exchange through export, especially as important medicinal raw materials for preventing and treating high blood pressure and heart disease. Extracts from ginkgo leaves can "defend the heart and protect the brain." In particular, there are more than 160 kinds of chemical extracts from the leaves, and their effective utilization is one of the hottest topics in the world today. The nuts are high-grade tonic health products.Ginkgo nuts are rich in nutrients and have natural health benefits. Long-term consumption can delay aging and prolong life. Ginkgo was listed as a royal tribute in the Song Dynasty. Japanese people have the habit of eating white ginkgo nuts daily, and Westerners must have white ginkgo nuts at Christmas. In terms of eating methods, ginkgo is mainly stir-fried, roasted, boiled, used in dishes, pastries, canned food, beverages, and alcoholic drinks. The composition of ginkgo leaves is complex. So far, more than 160 chemical components of ginkgo leaf extract are known, mainly including flavonoids, phenols, alkaloids, ginkgol, and others.
Edible
White ginkgo nuts contain hydrocyanic acid toxin, which is highly toxic, and its toxicity decreases after heating, so eating them raw is more likely to cause poisoning. The general toxic dose is 10-50 nuts, and poisoning symptoms occur 1-12 hours after eating white ginkgo nuts. To prevent white ginkgo nut poisoning, it is not advisable to eat too many, and even less advisable to eat them raw.The medical and health-care effects of ginkgo seed kernels. According to "Compendium of Materia Medica": "Eaten cooked, it warms the lungs, boosts qi, calms wheezing and cough, reduces urination, and stops white turbidity; eaten raw, it reduces phlegm, disinfects, and kills parasites." Modern science has proven that ginkgo seed kernels have effects against Escherichia coli, diphtheria bacillus, Staphylococcus, tuberculosis bacillus, and Streptococcus. Traditional Chinese medicine has long used ginkgo seed kernels to treat diseases such as bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, leukorrhea, strangury with turbidity, and seminal emission. Ginkgo seed kernels also have the effect of removing spots, smoothing wrinkles, and treating sores and ringworm. For patients with cough and thin phlegm, decoct 30 grams of ginkgo seed kernels and 15 grams of rock sugar in water and take it twice a day, and it can be cured in half a month; for childhood enuresis, simmer 5 ginkgo seed kernels until cooked, take the kernel before bed every night, and results can be seen in half a month. [Nature, flavor, and meridian entry] Neutral in nature, sweet, bitter, and astringent in taste, with slight toxicity; enters the lung and kidney meridians. [Efficacy and indications] Astringes lung qi, calms wheezing and cough, stops leukorrhea and turbidity, reduces urination, disinfects, and kills parasites. Indications include asthma, phlegm cough, nocturnal emission, leukorrhea, white turbidity, infantile diarrhea, parasitic accumulation, intestinal wind and visceral toxin, gonorrhea, frequent urination, as well as scabies, ringworm, lacquer sore, vitiligo, and other conditions. [Nutritional components] Each 100 grams contains 6.4 grams of protein, 2.4 grams of fat, 36 grams of carbohydrates, 1.2 grams of crude fiber, 52 grams of sucrose, 1.1 reducing sugar, 10 mg of calcium, 218 mg of phosphorus, 1 mg of iron, 320 micrograms of carotene, 50 micrograms of riboflavin, as well as ginkgol, ginkgol, ginkgolic acid, and other components.Dietary therapeutic effects1. Bacteriostatic and bactericidal: 2. Relieving disease and stopping cough: 3. Anti-waterlogging and insect-inhibiting: 4. Stopping leukorrhea and turbidity, 5. Lowering serum cholesterol,Effects
1. Ginkgo lowers the level of lipid peroxidation, reduces freckles, moisturizes the skin, and beautifies the complexion.
2. Ginkgo lowers the cholesterol level in human blood and prevents arteriosclerosis. It has a significant improving effect on physical exhaustion after mild activity, rapid heartbeat, chest pain, dizziness, and blurred vision in middle-aged and elderly people.
3. Ginkgo eliminates deposited components on blood vessel walls, improves blood rheology, enhances the deformability of red blood cells, lowers blood viscosity, and makes blood flow smooth. It can prevent and treat cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction. It also has a certain therapeutic effect on senile dementia caused by arteriosclerosis.
4. Ginkgo lowers blood pressure by increasing vascular permeability and elasticity, and has a relatively good blood pressure-lowering effect.
5. Ginkgo leaf preparations combined with hypoglycemic drugs have a relatively good therapeutic effect in treating diabetes and can be used as an auxiliary medicine for diabetes.
6. Ginkgo is used in the treatment of bronchial asthma and also has a relatively good therapeutic effect.
7. Ginkgo can significantly reduce symptoms such as menstrual abdominal pain and waist and back soreness.
8. Stopping leukorrhea and turbidity, reducing urination: Modern medical research has found that white ginkgo nuts have the effect of contracting the bladder sphincter. They have an auxiliary therapeutic effect on conditions such as childhood enuresis, frequent urination due to qi deficiency, leukorrhea and white turbidity, and insecure seminal emission.
9. Relieving disease and stopping cough: White ginkgo nuts are sweet, bitter, and astringent in taste and have the effects of astringing lung qi and calming wheezing and cough. They have an auxiliary dietary therapeutic effect on lung disease cough, asthma in elderly people with weak constitutions, and various types of asthma with copious phlegm.
10. Anti-waterlogging and insect-inhibiting: The ginkgolic acid and ginkgol contained in the outer seed coat of white ginkgo nuts have effects against tuberculosis bacillus. White ginkgo nuts soaked in oil have a strong inhibitory effect on tuberculosis bacillus. Fresh fruits soaked in raw vegetable oil have a certain effect on improving symptoms caused by pulmonary tuberculosis such as fever, night sweats, cough with blood, and poor appetite. Therefore, they can be used to treat pulmonary tuberculosis.
11. Lowering serum cholesterol and dilating coronary arteries: Ginkgo leaves contain shikimic acid, ginkgo biflavones, isoginkgo biflavones, sterols, and others, which have certain effects in treating high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, angina pectoris, cerebral vasospasm, and excessively high serum cholesterol.
12. Bacteriostatic and bactericidal: The ginkgolic acid and ginkgol contained in white ginkgo nuts have been experimentally proven to have bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects and can be used to treat infectious diseases of the respiratory tract. White ginkgo nut water infusion has varying degrees of inhibitory effects on various fungi and can relieve itching and treat ringworm.
Dietary contraindications
Ginkgo seed kernels, especially the embryo and cotyledons, contain a small amount of toxic substances such as ginkgolic acid, ginkgol, and ginkgol, and eating them raw or cooked in excess can cause poisoning. Poisoning varies from person to person; mild poisoning presents as general discomfort and drowsiness, while severe poisoning presents as vomiting, cramps, purple lips, nausea, difficulty breathing, and others. People with mild poisoning can recover by drinking strong tea or coffee and resting in bed, while severe cases should be sent to the hospital for treatment. To safely eat ginkgo kernels, the embryo and cotyledons should be removed, first boiled in clean water, the water and inner seed coat discarded, and then boiled again in water or used for cooking. In addition, sprouted ginkgo seed kernels must not be eaten, and when eating ginkgo seed kernels, one must never eat fish at the same time.Recommended recipes1. Braised chicken with white ginkgo nuts. Ingredients: 1 young tender hen (about 1250 grams), 250 grams of white ginkgo nuts (ginkgo), 30 grams of Shaoxing wine, 15 grams of ginger, 10 grams of salt. Characteristics: "Braised chicken with white ginkgo nuts" is a traditional famous dish in the Qingcheng Mountain area of Chengdu. Qingcheng Mountain has beautiful scenery and is known for its tranquility. The food here is delicious and unique, and has the name "Four Wonders," namely the first wonder "Dongtian Tribute Tea," with excellent tea quality, clear juice color, and mellow tea aroma; the second wonder "Braised chicken with white ginkgo nuts," with thick white broth and exceptionally delicious chicken; the third wonder "Qingcheng Pickles," crisp, tender, and fresh, with a deep aftertaste; the fourth wonder "Dongtian Milk Wine," with a strong but not harsh wine flavor, sweet but not greasy. It is said that "Braised chicken with white ginkgo nuts" was created by the Taoist priests of Tianshi Cave on Qingcheng Mountain. It is said that two or three hundred years ago, an elderly Taoist priest on Qingcheng Mountain suffered from a long illness and became increasingly thin. There was a ginkgo tree on Qingcheng Mountain with a history of more than 2500 years, and its white ginkgo nuts were large and firm. A Taoist priest from Tianshi Cave repeatedly took the white ginkgo nuts from this tree, cooked soup with a tender hen, simmered it over low heat until thick, and gave it to the Taoist priest to eat, which improved his condition, and before long he recovered his health and was full of energy. From then on, "Braised chicken with white ginkgo nuts" became famous in Chengdu and throughout the Sichuan region, becoming a distinctive famous dish. Operation:
(1) Slaughter the chicken, remove the feathers and internal organs, and wash clean with clean water. Use a knife to cut open along the chicken's backbone (do not cut open the abdomen), put it into a pot with cold water and heat until just about to boil, then take it out, wash clean with clean water, remove the blood residue, and set aside.
(2) Crack open the white ginkgo nut shells, blanch them briefly in boiling water with the shells on, take them out, peel off the shells, and wash clean. (3) Put the whole young tender hen into a pot, add water (enough to submerge the chicken), add ginger slices and Shaoxing wine, cover and braise for about 30 minutes, until the chicken is half-cooked and the broth is becoming thick, then pour it into a large clay pot, add the white ginkgo nuts and salt, cover and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes, until the chicken is tender and the soup is thick, then remove from the pot, pour into a large round soup plate, with the chicken belly facing up and the backbone facing down, and the white ginkgo nuts arranged around it. Characteristics: light yellow color, thick white broth, tender chicken, slightly sweet white ginkgo nuts, soft, cooked, and palatable. Key points: Must use a plump young tender hen, remove the dirty blood and wash clean. When cooking, first use high heat to cook the chicken until tender and the soup until thick, then put it into a clay pot and stew over low heat. 2. White ginkgo nut taro paste. Ingredients: [Main ingredients]: half a jin of net taro meat, three liang of white ginkgo nuts, half a cup of sugar, four tablespoons of lard, three tablespoons of sugar. [Auxiliary ingredients]: 1/3 cup of water, two tablespoons of sugar, one tablespoon of cornstarch. Operation: (1) Wash the taro, slice, and steam until cooked, about forty minutes, then while hot mash into a paste. (2) Remove the shells from the white ginkgo nuts, put them in boiling water and cook for fifteen minutes, take them out, remove the skins and cores, wash clean, drain the water, put them in hot oil and fry briefly, take them out, add three tablespoons of sugar and mix evenly (best to marinate overnight). (3) Add one tablespoon of lard, add the white ginkgo nuts and the sugar used to marinate them and stir-fry briefly, add one cup of water and cook until about 3/4 cup of water remains, then set aside the white ginkgo nuts and the water used to cook them separately. (4) Add three tablespoons of lard, add the taro paste and half a cup of sugar and stir-fry over low heat until the sugar dissolves, then add the remaining water from cooking the white ginkgo nuts and stir-fry evenly, then scoop out. (5) After the taro paste cools, if it does not feel smooth and fine, it can be put into a grinder and ground until smooth and fine, then placed in a deep dish and the white ginkgo nuts added. Steam until hot when eating, bring the sauce to a boil and pour it over the taro paste and white ginkgo nuts. Whether or not to use the sauce is optional.
Medicinal information:
[Chinese name] Ginkgo, white fruit tree, Gongsun tree
[Chinese pinyin] Yinxin
[English name] Maidenhair Tree, Maidenhairtree, Ginkgo, Maiden Hair Tree
[Latin scientific name] Ginkgo biloba L.
[Family and genus classification] Ginkgoaceae, Ginkgo genus
[Plant morphology] Deciduous tree, up to 40 meters tall, diameter at breast height up to 4 meters; bark grayish-brown, deeply longitudinally fissured, rough; branches nearly whorled, extending obliquely upward, or female plant branches slightly spreading; long shoots grayish-yellow, with fine longitudinal cracks; short shoots densely covered with black-gray leaf scars, and the tips of short shoots can often grow long shoots again. Leaves fan-shaped, with long petioles, light green, spirally alternate on long shoots, spirally clustered on short shoots, apex 5-8 cm wide, often with wavy notches on short shoots, often with 2 lobes or no lobes, base broadly cuneate. Flowers unisexual, dioecious; male flowers in pendulous short catkins, 4-6 borne in the leaf axils of short shoots, with numerous stamens, anthers 2-celled, borne at the tip of short stalks; female flowers in groups of 2-3 on short shoots, each flower with a long stalk, the stalk end forked into two, each bearing 1 carpel, with the ovule attached on it, usually only 1 ovule developing and maturing. Mature seeds ovate or nearly spherical, 2-3 cm in diameter; outer seed coat fleshy, yellow when mature; middle seed coat bony, white, with 2-3 longitudinal ridges; inner seed coat membranous, light reddish-brown; endosperm abundant, fleshy, cotyledons 2. Flowering period March-April, seed maturity period September-October.
[Habitat and distribution] Grows in natural forests in acidic soil and well-drained areas at altitudes of 500-1000 meters, and is also cultivated. Distributed in most parts of the country. The medicinal material is mainly produced in Guangxi, Sichuan, Henan, Shandong, Hubei, Liaoning, and other provinces.
[Medicinal parts] Seeds and leaves are used as medicine. Chinese medicine names: white ginkgo nut (seed); white ginkgo leaf (leaf).
[Harvesting and processing] Seeds: Harvest when the seeds mature in autumn, remove the fleshy outer seed coat, wash clean, steam briefly or boil briefly, then dry. Leaves: Harvest in autumn, remove impurities, and sun-dry.
[Main components] Contains protein, fat, and others.
[Pharmacological effects] The leaves can treat coronary arteriosclerotic heart disease, relieve angina pectoris, and lower cholesterol and blood pressure.
[Nature, flavor, and functions] Seeds: sweet, bitter, astringent, neutral, toxic. Leaves: sweet, bitter, astringent, neutral, slightly toxic. Seeds: astringe the lungs and calm wheezing, stop leukorrhea and turbidity, reduce urination. Leaves: calm wheezing, invigorate blood.
[Indications and usage] Seeds: used for phlegm-profuse wheezing and cough, leukorrhea and white turbidity, enuresis and frequent urination. Leaves: used for cough and wheezing, coronary heart disease, and angina pectoris. Seeds: Oral administration: decoct in water, 3-9 grams; or pound into juice. External use: appropriate amount, pound and apply; or slice and apply. Those with excess pathogens should not take it. Eating raw is toxic. Leaves: Oral administration: decoct in water, 6-15 grams, or grind into powder. Those with excess pathogens should not take it. Eating raw or stir-fried in excess can cause poisoning.
Seeds:
Lower body gan sores: Several raw white ginkgo nuts, pound, and apply. (Jiji Xianfang)
Leaves:
Coronary heart disease, angina pectoris: 15 grams each of white ginkgo leaf, trichosanthes, and salvia, 12 grams of macrostem onion, 9 grams of turmeric, and 5 grams of raw licorice. Decoct and take. (Anhui Chinese Herbal Medicines)
[Name] Ginkgo leaf
[Pinyin] Yinxingye
[English] Ginkgo Leaf
[Latin] Ginkgo Folium
[Category] Leaf class
[Source] The dried leaves of the ginkgo plant Ginkgo biloba L. of the Ginkgoaceae family.
[Origin] Mainly produced in Sichuan, Jiangsu, Hubei, Guangxi, and other places.
[Characters] This product is mostly wrinkled or broken; the complete ones are fan-shaped, 3-12 cm long and 5-15 cm wide. Yellow-green or light brownish-yellow, with the upper margin irregularly wavy and curved, some concave in the middle, with the deepest reaching 4/5 of the leaf length. It has dichotomous parallel veins, fine and dense, smooth and hairless, and easily torn longitudinally. The leaf base is cuneate, and the petiole is 2-8 cm long. Light in weight. Slight odor, slightly bitter taste.
[Quality] Those that are flat and free of impurities are considered best.
[Nature and flavor] Sweet, bitter, astringent, neutral.
[Efficacy]Astringes the lungs, relieves asthma, invigorates blood circulation and removes blood stasis, and relieves pain. Used for cough and asthma due to lung deficiency; coronary heart disease, angina pectoris, high blood lipids, anticoagulation, and it has a certain probability of improving memory.
Medicinal value
[table][/table]The medical content on Huahua.com is for reference only and cannot be regarded as professional advice. For any health problem, you should consult professional medical personnel.
For hundreds of years, ginkgo extract has held a special place in traditional Chinese medicine. In traditional Chinese medicine there is a remedy called Baiguo, which is the seed of ginkgo. According to the "Compendium of Materia Medica": "Baiguo is slightly bitter and mildly sweet, warm in nature and slightly toxic, and eating too much causes abdominal bloating." "Eaten cooked, it warms the lungs, boosts qi, calms wheezing and cough, reduces urination, and stops white turbidity; eaten raw, it reduces phlegm, disinfects and kills insects; chewed into a paste and applied to the nose, face, hands and feet, it removes nasal sores, blisters, dark spots, chapped wrinkles, scabies, ringworm, malnutrition worms and pubic lice." Only in modern times did Western scholars begin to study the medicinal value of ginkgo.
The medicinal use of Baiguo is mainly reflected in 3 aspects: medicine, pesticides and veterinary medicine. Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty once said: "It enters the lung meridian, benefits spleen qi, calms wheezing and cough, and reduces urination." In Zhang Lulu's "Bencao Fengyuan" of the Qing Dynasty, it is recorded that Baiguo has the functions of reducing phlegm, clearing toxins and killing insects, and can treat "sores, scabies, boils and tumors, breast abscesses and ulceration, dental caries, diarrhea in children, red and white vaginal discharge, chronic strangury and turbidity, spermatorrhea and enuresis, and other conditions." In the Ming Dynasty, Jiangsu, Sichuan and other places produced Chinese patent medicines prepared from Baiguo for clinical use. The outer seed coat of ginkgo contains large amounts of hydroginkgolic acid and ginkgo flavonoids. The water-soluble components of the outer seed coat have a fairly good antitussive and expectorant effect, and their mode of action is similar to cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone. The alcohol-based intermediates of the outer seed coat have an effective inhibition rate of 81% against 22 kinds of clinically common pathogenic fungi. 0.1% hydroginkgolic acid has an effective inhibition rate of 92% against 25 kinds of clinically pathogenic fungi. In addition, the outer seed coat extract has an inhibition rate of 88%-100% against 11 kinds of plant pathogens such as apple anthracnose. The alcohol extract achieved a 100% control rate against the silk-cotton golden geometrid within 3 days, and can also control pests such as spider mites, peach aphids and striped stem borers. According to the "Folk Veterinary Materia Medica", ginkgo preparations can treat livestock conditions such as strain-induced nasal discharge, lung abscess with cough and asthma, cough due to lung deficiency, strangury and blood in urine, and vaginal discharge in female animals. The Dingchuan Tang developed by the Shandong Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Station treats infectious laryngotracheitis in chickens with a cure rate of 95%. With the continuous deepening of modern pharmacological research, it has been found that ginkgo leaves contain not only flavonoid substances but also compounds such as terpene lactones and phenols, and their outstanding pharmacological effects have gradually become recognized.
Clinical observations have proven that ginkgo leaves have the following effects:
1. Lower the cholesterol level in human blood and prevent arteriosclerosis. It has a significant improving effect on weakness after mild activity, rapid heartbeat, chest pain, dizziness and blurred vision in middle-aged and elderly people.
2. Lower blood pressure by increasing vascular permeability and elasticity, with a fairly good blood-pressure-lowering effect.
3. Remove deposited components on blood vessel walls, improve blood rheology, enhance the deformability of red blood cells, reduce blood viscosity, and make blood flow smooth, which can prevent and treat cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction. It also has a certain therapeutic effect on senile dementia caused by arteriosclerosis.
4. Ginkgo leaf preparations combined with hypoglycemic drugs have a fairly good therapeutic effect on diabetes and can be used as an auxiliary drug for diabetes.
5. It can noticeably relieve symptoms such as menstrual abdominal pain and soreness and pain in the lower back.
6. It is used for the treatment of bronchial asthma and also has a fairly good therapeutic effect.
7. Lower the level of lipid peroxidation, reduce freckles, moisturize the skin, and beautify the complexion.
At present, ginkgo leaf preparations circulating on the market include "tablets, granules, teas, oral liquids and other dosage forms, with tablets being the majority. Regardless of the dosage form, they must be taken at the prescribed dose. When taken at excessive doses, there are occasionally digestive tract reactions such as reduced appetite and nausea, and very few patients develop allergic rashes. Therefore, during treatment one must not be impatient for results and arbitrarily increase the dose. If symptoms such as blood pressure dropping too quickly or angina pectoris worsening occur, especially when cardiac insufficiency worsens, the dose should be reduced in time or another drug should be used.
There are as many as more than 160 kinds of ginkgo leaf extracts with known chemical components. The main ones include flavonoids, terpenes, phenols, alkaloids, polyisoprenes, quinic acid, linoleic acid, snakegrass acid, ascorbic acid, a-hexenal, ginkgol, ginkgone and so on. In the 1960s, the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other units developed the Shuxuening injection from ginkgo leaves, and tests showed that it has a certain therapeutic effect on coronary heart disease, angina pectoris and cerebrovascular diseases. At the same time, ginkgo leaves can also be used as a pesticide. Add 1 kg of leaves to 20 kg of water, boil for 30 minutes, then soak for 2-3 days, take the liquid and spray it on red spiders and cabbage caterpillars, with a control rate of more than 90%, and no residue.
Ginkgo and ginkgo leaves are used to make health pillows. It is recorded in "Pillow Records": the seed kernel of ginkgo is commonly known as Baiguo, with a sweet taste and rich nutrition, good for both medicine and food, and it is also used in medicinal diets or as medicine. The leaves, seed coat and roots of ginkgo all contain a variety of chemical components that can be used in traditional Chinese medicine. Selected ginkgo leaves from trees over three years old and other precious Chinese herbal medicines are formulated into ginkgo leaf health pillows. With a faint delicate fragrance, they can improve human respiration and enhance sleep quality. Long-term use can prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases, prevent high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and so on in adults caused by vascular aging, and can provide adults, especially in middle and old age, with natural substances that maintain normal cardiac output and normal nervous system function, helping people maintain a normal cell life cycle as much as possible.
Ginkgo leaves contain flavonoid glycosides and can be used as medicine. The extracted products are now often used to prevent motion sickness and enhance memory. However, whether they actually have these uses is still debated. Baiguo is slightly toxic, and eating too much can cause symptoms such as dizziness and diarrhea.
Contraindications for use
Ginkgo leaves must not be brewed together with tea leaves and chrysanthemum. Ginkgo leaves contain large amounts of ginkgolic acid, and ginkgolic acid is toxic. Generally, the leaves collected have not undergone deep processing and preparation, and the ginkgolic acid content in fresh leaves is as high as 3000-4000 ppm. Because ginkgolic acid is water-soluble, steeping in water not only fails to extract the effective substances such as ginkgo flavonoids and ginkgo lactones inside, but instead has the opposite effect, with toxins in it. Among them, the medicinally valuable ginkgo flavonoids and others are fat-soluble, and brewing them in water can dissolve out the toxic substances, making it easy to cause poisoning when drunk. In pharmaceutical products, especially ginkgo products used in hospitals, a small amount of 10 ppm ginkgolic acid is allowed.
Toxicity
The fruit of ginkgo contains hydrocyanic acid toxin, which is quite toxic, and the toxicity decreases when exposed to heat, so eating it raw easily causes poisoning; it is more common in children; symptoms include vomiting, listlessness, fever and convulsions.
The effects and uses of ginkgo: economic valueAlso known as Baiguo, it belongs to the dry fruit category, and its economic fruiting period can last as long as several thousand years. Among the many dry fruits, ginkgo ranks third in economic value. The value of Baiguo is mainly reflected in food and medicine. China's Baiguo output accounts for 90% of the world's total output. Ginkgo leaves and fruits are important export products that earn foreign exchange, especially as important pharmaceutical raw materials for preventing and treating high blood pressure and heart disease. Extracts from ginkgo leaves can "defend the heart and protect the brain." There are as many as more than 160 kinds of chemically extracted ginkgo leaf substances with known chemical components. The main ones include flavonoids, terpenes, phenols, alkaloids, polyisoprenes, quinic acid, linoleic acid, snakegrass acid, ascorbic acid, a-hexenal, ginkgol, ginkgone and so on. The medicinal use of Baiguo is mainly reflected in 3 aspects: medicine, pesticides and veterinary medicine. The outer seed coat of ginkgo contains large amounts of hydroginkgolic acid and ginkgo flavonoids. Ginkgo has the effect of regulating the respiratory organs. The water-soluble components of the outer seed coat have a fairly good antitussive and expectorant effect, and their mode of action is similar to cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone. Because ginkgo contains ginkgolic acid, it has a relatively strong inhibitory effect on tubercle bacilli, skin fungi and so on, so it can be used to treat pulmonary tuberculosis, skin diseases and so on; the alcohol-based intermediates of the outer seed coat have an effective inhibition rate of 81% against 22 kinds of clinically common pathogenic fungi. 0.1% hydroginkgolic acid has an effective inhibition rate of 92% against 25 kinds of clinically pathogenic fungi. Ginkgo leaves have important medicinal value. Ginkgo leaves are bitter, sweet, astringent and neutral in nature and flavor, and contain biflavones. Experiments and clinical practice have proven that they have the effect of lowering serum cholesterol and dilating coronary arteries, and have a certain auxiliary therapeutic effect on coronary heart disease and high blood pressure; in the 1960s, the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other units developed the Shuxuening injection from ginkgo leaves, and tests showed that it has a certain therapeutic effect on coronary heart disease, angina pectoris and cerebrovascular diseases. The outer seed coat extract of ginkgo has an inhibition rate of 88%-100% against 11 kinds of plant pathogens such as apple anthracnose. The alcohol extract achieved a 100% control rate against the silk-cotton golden geometrid within 3 days, and can also control pests such as spider mites, peach aphids and striped stem borers. According to the "Folk Veterinary Materia Medica", ginkgo preparations can treat livestock conditions such as strain-induced nasal discharge, lung abscess with cough and asthma, cough due to lung deficiency, strangury and blood in urine, and vaginal discharge in female animals. The Dingchuan Tang developed by the Shandong Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Station treats infectious laryngotracheitis in chickens with a cure rate of 95%. Ginkgo leaves can also be used as a pesticide. Add 1 kg of leaves to 20 kg of water, boil for 30 minutes, then soak for 2-3 days, take the liquid and spray it on red spiders and cabbage caterpillars, with a control rate of more than 90%, and no residue. Using the effective chemical components and special medicinal and health-care effects of ginkgo fruits and leaves to process and produce health foods, medicines and cosmetics is attracting attention from research, development and production units at home and abroad. Many enterprises in various countries are competing to develop and produce natural green products made from ginkgo as raw materials to replace synthetic chemicals that have relatively large side effects on human health. The Dafeng Ginkgo Base in Jiangsu has more than 20,000 trees of 10 cm or more. Health products such as ginkgo leaf beverages, ginkgo peach juice, ginkgo beer and ginkgo tea developed from ginkgo leaves have already circulated on the market. Pizhou City, Jiangsu Province, is in an advanced position in the planting of ginkgo leaves and the production of processed extracts (GBE). Ginkgo and ginkgo leaves are used to make health pillows. It is recorded in "Pillow Records": selected ginkgo leaves from trees over three years old and other precious Chinese herbal medicines are formulated into ginkgo leaf health pillows. With a faint delicate fragrance, they can improve human respiration and enhance sleep quality, and long-term use can prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases. They prevent high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and so on in adults caused by vascular aging, and can provide adults, especially in middle and old age, with natural substances that maintain normal cardiac output and normal nervous system function, helping people maintain a normal cell life cycle as much as possible. The ginkgo trunk is straight, and the wood is a high-grade material for making musical instruments and furniture. Ginkgo wood is of high quality and expensive, and has long been known as "silver fragrant wood" or "silver wood." Ginkgo wood is glossy, with straight grain, fine structure, easy processing, no warping or cracking, strong decay resistance, easy to paint, low nail-holding power, and has a special medicinal fragrance and strong insect resistance. Ginkgo wood can not only be used to make crafts such as carved plaques and wooden fish, but can also be made into high-grade furniture such as standing cabinets and desks. Ginkgo wood has resonance, sound conductivity and rich elasticity, making it an ideal material for making musical instruments. It can be used to make surveying and mapping instruments, pen holders and other cultural supplies, and is also a superior wood for making chessboards, chess pieces, sports equipment, seals and small handicrafts. In industrial production, silver wood is most suitable for making X-ray machine filter grids, textile printing and dyeing rollers, machine molds and wooden molds for bodiless lacquerware, plywood, cutting boards, wooden telephones and so on.
Ginkgo is a recognized economic forest tree for greening, beautifying the environment and having ornamental value. The ginkgo tree has a majestic and magnificent posture, beautiful leaf shape, a relatively long lifespan, and few pests and diseases, making it most suitable as a shade tree, street tree or specimen tree. It has good ornamental value. In summer, ginkgo is a stretch of lush green, and in autumn it is golden and lovely, giving people a sense of handsome magnificence and noble elegance. Therefore, from ancient times to the present and in China and abroad, ginkgo has been regarded as an important tree species for courtyards, streets and landscape greening. When ginkgo is used for street greening, male plants should be selected to avoid the seeds soiling pedestrians' clothing. Among Chinese cities, Dandong City was the earliest to use ginkgo as street trees, with three streets having century-old ginkgo on both sides.
Biological valueGinkgo is a relict plant, widely cultivated in China; it is also produced in Japan. It grows relatively slowly and has an extremely long lifespan, reaching more than a thousand years. The ginkgo tree is tall and upright, with fan-shaped leaves. The crown is large and shade-forming, with a cooling effect. The leaf shape is ancient and elegant, and the lifespan is long. It has no pests or diseases, does not pollute the environment, and the trunk is smooth, making it a famous pollution-free tree species, conducive to the propagation of ginkgo and adding to the scenery. It has strong adaptability, and ginkgo has very broad requirements for climate and soil. It resists smoke and dust, fire and toxic gases. Ginkgo has a certain ornamental value. Because its branches are flat and straight and its crown is a relatively regular conical shape, ginkgo forests planted in large quantities have an overall aesthetic appeal visually. Ginkgo leaves turn golden yellow in autumn, and under the low-angle sunlight of autumn they are quite beautiful, often used by photographers as a background. It is also an ideal tree species for landscape greening and street trees. It can be used as an ideal cultivated tree species for landscape greening, streets, highways, field shelterbelts and windbreak belts. It is listed as one of China's four major long-lived ornamental tree species (pine, cypress, pagoda tree, ginkgo).
Ecological valueHumans recognized the ecological value of ginkgo relatively late. The highest level of ginkgo's value - ecological value - is a priceless treasure. The ecological benefits of ginkgo are mainly reflected in the following: from the perspective of cultivation, ginkgo belongs to fruit trees - dry fruits; it belongs to forest trees - timber tree species, protective tree species, pest- and disease-resistant tree species, long-lived tree species and pollution-tolerant tree species. Ginkgo has strong adaptability and is an ideal tree species for fast-growing and high-yield forests, farmland shelterbelts, road-protection forests, bank-protection forests, beach-protection forests, village-protection forests, agroforestry intercropping and "four-side" greening. It can not only provide large amounts of high-quality timber, leaves and seeds, but can also green the environment, purify the air, conserve soil and water, control pests, regulate temperature, regulate psychology and so on. It is a good tree species for afforestation, greening and ornament, and is of great significance to the adjustment of agricultural and forestry planting structures across north and south China and the development of forestry in plain agricultural areas.Greening the environment:Ginkgo resists pests and diseases and is generally recognized as a pollution-free tree species, making it the most ideal tree species for ornamental greening. Planting ginkgo in parks, gardens, residential communities, along both sides of streets and in urban greening can be described as "once and for all." The greening effect of ginkgo trees is very good, but the speed of showing results is relatively slow. Small trees need to be planted for 2 years before they have a good effect, and after large trees are planted, they need 3-5 years of recovery time before they can display their beautiful function.Purifying the air:It has functions such as resisting pollution, resisting smoke and fire, and resisting dust. Ginkgo trees can be planted in certain proportions in industrial areas, residential communities, towns, densely populated places, leisure communities and so on to form ginkgo forest areas and belts, naturally purifying the air, reducing the content of suspended particles in the atmosphere, and improving air quality. Ginkgo trees can resist urban pollution and can grow where other trees cannot, making them very suitable for urban environmental beautification. Ginkgo can also be planted as bonsai for display. Propagating ginkgo from seed requires 20-30 years before it bears fruit, hence it is called the "grandfather-grandson tree," meaning the tree planted by the grandfather can only be harvested by the grandson.Conserving soil and water:Ginkgo has effects such as conserving water sources, preventing wind and fixing sand, and conserving soil and water. In areas where forests have been cut down, soil and water are lost, and wind and sand erosion occurs, ginkgo protection forest areas and protection forest belts, road-protection forests, bank-protection forests, beach-protection forests, sand-fixation forests and so on can be cultivated to conserve soil and water and improve the ecological environment. In 1996, Puding County, Guizhou Province, made cultivating ginkgo and developing the ginkgo industry a path for the county to escape poverty and become prosperous. The county had severe soil and water loss; even a handful of soil had to be planted with a stalk of corn, and the ground was full of limestone sand. To prevent soil and water loss, farmers switched to planting ginkgo, which both improved the ecological environment and provided economic income (ginkgo leaves sold to processing plants). Today, ginkgo has become a new path for poverty alleviation and prosperity in old revolutionary base areas, minority areas and border areas such as the Dabie Mountains, Daba Mountains and Yimeng Mountains. Planting ginkgo both improves the ecological environment and forms an industrial economy, achieving multiple benefits at once.Controlling pests:Ginkgo has the function of killing crop pests and diseases, and is especially effective against cotton pests, spider mites, peach aphids, striped stem borers and so on. Planting ginkgo around agricultural areas serves as a natural enemy of crop pests to protect crops.Regulating temperature:Ginkgo trees have the special function of being warm in winter and cool in summer. In midsummer, when the palm touches the ginkgo trunk, it feels icy cold, while touching other trunks (willow) makes the palm feel hot. According to measurements, in midsummer when the atmospheric temperature under direct sunlight is as high as 40.20°C, under the ginkgo tree it is 35.30°C, and the temperature difference between the atmospheric temperature and under the ginkgo shade is 4.90°C, while the temperature difference for weeping willow is only 2.30°C. Ginkgo's temperature-regulating ability is more than 2 times that of willow. Therefore, creating ginkgo forest areas and ginkgo forest belts on a scale to form a microclimate has a good effect on regulating temperature and improving the microclimate for farmland and residential areas.
Ginkgo beauty care
1. In terms of whitening: with increasing age and the influence of the external environment, oxygen free radicals in the body gradually increase, which causes insufficient superoxide dismutase (SOD), leading to excessive oxygen free radicals reacting with dermal cells through oxidation and causing melasma or pregnancy spots. The flavonoid components contained in ginkgo leaves can block the formation and deposition of pigment in the dermis, achieving the effect of whitening the skin and preventing pigmented patches. In addition to flavonoids, trace elements such as zinc, manganese and molybdenum in ginkgo leaves can also scavenge oxygen free radicals and inhibit melanin growth. 2. In terms of wrinkle removal: it takes about 3 months for human skin to completely renew once. The reason for fine lines on the face is that the newly formed cells in the dermis have already been oxidized by excessive free radicals before they reach the skin surface, and by the time they reach the epidermis they are already aging cells. The flavonoid glycosides and flavonols in ginkgo leaves are both scavengers of free radicals, can protect dermal cells, improve blood circulation, and prevent cells from being oxidized and producing wrinkles. 3. Ginkgo and free radicals: ginkgo is one of the herbs with the ability to resist active genes, and ginkgo is very effective in protecting lipids (components of cell membranes) from free radical damage. Considering that brain cells contain the highest concentration of unsaturated fatty acids among all cells, this strongly supports the protective effect of ginkgo on the central nervous system. Free radicals in the brain and nervous system are widely considered a major cause of accelerated aging. In the process of protecting cells (especially brain cells), ginkgo plays multiple roles. First, it promotes blood circulation and the transport of oxygen and glucose to cells; second, when free radicals threaten cells, ginkgo can protect cells from damage and remove free radicals from the body.Artistic valueGinkgo is majestic in momentum, with gnarled trunks and lush solemnity. In China's famous mountains and great rivers, ancient temples and nunneries, there are towering ancient ginkgo trees everywhere. They have endured the vicissitudes of time and trace back through the ages, giving people a sense of mystery and unpredictability. Through the dynasties, men of letters who visited the temples left behind many poems, essays and rhapsodies, inscribed steles to record the beauty of the scenery, and wrote of their merits to take pride in. Selecting ginkgo with graceful postures and processing them into bonsai concentrates the majestic appearance of ginkgo in nature into pots and trays, ancient, special, secluded and elegant, full of wild charm, placed on a desk for pure enjoyment, delighting the mood and the eye. The ginkgo tree is a famous long-lived tree species, with strong vitality, peculiar leaf shape, easy to graft, propagate, shape and prune, and is a high-quality material for making bonsai. Ginkgo bonsai made from ginkgo tree burls is even more outstanding, with very high ornamental and economic value. Ginkgo is a commonly used tree species in Chinese bonsai. Ginkgo bonsai has thick trunks, curved branches, exposed roots, a unique shape, vigorous and unrestrained, and full of lively interest, and is a masterpiece among Chinese bonsai. In summer it is vigorous and lush green, and in autumn golden and lovely, giving people a sense of steep magnificence and noble elegance. It is increasingly valued and praised as "living artistic sculpture." According to people's different appreciation requirements, there are mainly several types: fruit-viewing bonsai, leaf-viewing bonsai and stump bonsai.
Landscape uses of ginkgo: ginkgo trees can resist urban pollution and can grow where other trees cannot, making them very suitable for urban environmental beautification. Ginkgo can also be planted as bonsai for display. Propagating ginkgo from seed requires 20-30 years before it bears fruit, hence it is called the "grandfather-grandson tree," meaning the tree planted by the grandfather can only be harvested by the grandson.
The ginkgo tree is tall and upright, with fan-shaped leaves. The crown is large and shade-forming, with a cooling effect. The leaf shape is ancient and elegant, and the lifespan is long. It has no pests or diseases, does not pollute the environment, and the trunk is smooth, making it a famous pollution-free tree species, conducive to the propagation of ginkgo and adding to the scenery. It has strong adaptability, and ginkgo has very broad requirements for climate and soil. It resists smoke and dust, fire and toxic gases. The ginkgo tree is tall, with a straight trunk and beautiful posture, emerald green in spring and summer and golden in late autumn, making it an ideal tree species for landscape greening and street trees. It can be used as an ideal cultivated tree species for landscape greening, streets, highways, field shelterbelts and windbreak belts. It is listed as one of China's four major long-lived ornamental tree species (pine, cypress, pagoda tree, ginkgo). Cultivation techniques of ginkgo: ginkgo is propagated from seedlings. The seed embryo has a dormant phenomenon. Sow in winter or in early spring after stratification. It can be planted once the seedlings are more than 1 m tall. For street trees, male plants should be selected. It can also be propagated by cuttings and tillering. To promote earlier fruiting and to cultivate improved clonal varieties, bud grafting or branch grafting can be used for propagation.
Planting steps
1. Sowing and raising seedlings: seeds should be collected with large grains, and female trees about 80 years old are best. The collected seeds should be peeled and dried in the shade. In the south, autumn sowing can be used, while in the north spring sowing is preferable. For the seedbed, sandy loam with good water permeability should be selected.
2. Propagating seedlings by tillering: around February (after the ground thaws in the north), dig out suckering branches with roots on half of the base, and plant them in the nursery. Diameters of 1 cm to 4 cm are all acceptable. This method easily survives. It takes about 10 years to flower and bear fruit.
3. Cutting propagation: from May to June, select soft current-year branches, cut them into 10 cm to 15 cm, keep 3 to 4 leaves on top, insert half into the soil and spray water frequently to ensure the leaves do not dry out. It takes about one and a half to two months to root.
4. Seedling transplanting: ginkgo with a diameter below 5 cm can be planted bare-rooted, while those above 6 cm generally need to be planted with a soil ball. Bare-rooted seedlings have a recovery period in the year of planting. Seedlings with a soil ball can grow in the same year. After small seedlings are planted in rows, irrigate by flooding. For planting large trees, it is best to fill the pit with water before planting. After the water in the pit has seeped away, plant the large tree into the pit and firm it, allowing the water in the pit to rise back up and moisten the roots. For the next watering, it is advisable to dig a diversion ditch at the side of the pit, fill it with water, and let the water slowly seep to the ginkgo roots. Never flood-irrigate. The main reason many people fail to keep transplanted ginkgo alive is not that they die of dryness, but that they drown. Because the ginkgo root system has a large respiration demand, flood irrigation causes the roots to lack oxygen and suffocate, so they cannot send out new roots, and the root system gradually rots. Some ginkgo, even if dead, can still unfold leaves, and can even sprout in the second or third year, but the leaves are very small. Only when the nutrients in its body are exhausted does it stop producing leaves. This is the "false life" phenomenon of ginkgo. Some ginkgo do not produce leaves in the first year after planting, and even not in the second year. If the bark is pinched, it will be found to be fresh, and the branches do not shrivel. Such trees are not necessarily dead, and perhaps they will produce leaves in the third year. This phenomenon is also called the "false death" phenomenon of ginkgo. To determine whether ginkgo is falsely dead or falsely alive, one cannot look only at the leaves; the important thing is to look at the roots. Fresh seedlings should have root xylem that is white, and the root bark slightly red and closely attached to the xylem.
5. Management of seedlings
(1) After ginkgo survives, it does not need frequent irrigation. In northern regions, water once after the ground thaws and before sprouting. In May, if the weather is dry, water once, because this is the peak growth period of ginkgo in the year. In autumn, mid-August is the second peak growth period of ginkgo in the year, and it can be watered once. Both irrigations can be combined with fertilization.
(2) Fertilization: fertilization in the nursery can be carried out in spring and summer. In spring, apply 5000 jin to 10000 jin of decomposed organic fertilizer per mu between two rows, then rotary till once with a small rotary tiller so that the fertilizer is evenly mixed into the soil. For large seedlings, several radial ditches can be opened, and organic fertilizer and topsoil mixed evenly and filled into the ditches. If the amount of spring fertilization is large, once a year is enough; if the amount is small, apply once more in mid-August.
(3) Pruning: ginkgo generally does not need pruning, because ginkgo sends out few new shoots. Even for seedlings in the nursery, as many branches and leaves as possible should be retained to help them thicken faster. In the year before the seedlings are to be sold, cut off branches below 1.8 m. After a year of growth, the cut can be filled in, the surface smooth, and the trunk upright.
(4) Cultivation: proper cultivation can improve the aeration conditions of the soil. Cultivation also plays a pruning role for the fibrous roots of ginkgo, which can stimulate more fibrous roots to sprout. Cultivating once each in spring and autumn is enough.
(5) Disease and pest control: the main disease of ginkgo is damping-off in the seedling stage. The main pest of seedlings in the field is the larvae of scarab beetles (white grubs). In the seedling stage, pay attention to ventilation and drainage, loosen the surface soil, and spray Bordeaux mixture to prevent damping-off. The way to control white grubs is to apply decomposed organic fertilizer as much as possible. When fertilizing, spray the entire garden once with 3911 pesticide at 500 times dilution, then rotary till once to rotary the fertilized material into the soil. Another method is to moisten wheat bran, rice bran and so on, mix with trichlorfon, store in a bucket for two days to let it fully absorb the pesticide, then scatter it into the field, and then cultivate. There is also another method: bury a pile of dry grass about every 10 m, water the dry grass frequently, and every two months uncover the dry grass, under which there will be many white grubs, and kill them in a concentrated way.
(6) Cultivation of fruiting trees: ginkgo is dioecious and cross-pollinated, so fruiting trees should be provided with pollinator trees. Ginkgo has very strong pollination ability, and under a breeze, 25 km downwind is an effective pollination area. The difference between male and female trees is: female trees have obvious whorled branches, branches spreading flat, and darker leaf color, while male trees have upright alternate branches. The planting spacing for ginkgo orchards is 4 m x 6 m. Seedlings grow quickly. Select seedlings with a diameter at breast height of 3 cm to 4 cm, truncate the head and graft, generally using branch grafting. For the scion, choose a superior variety that is 3 years old, with glossy bark color, bearing 3 to 6 short branches, and with large fruits. After grafting, it can bear fruit in 3 to 4 years.
Planting techniques1. Land selection: ginkgo has a long lifespan, and one planting benefits for a long time, so land selection is very important. Ginkgo is a light-loving tree species, and a sunny slope with not too steep a gradient should be selected as the afforestation site. It has no strict requirements for soil conditions, but neutral or slightly acidic soil with a thick upper layer, moist and fertile soil, and good drainage is preferable. 2. Planting. 1. Rational arrangement of pollinator trees: ginkgo is a dioecious plant, and to achieve high yield, pollinator trees should be rationally arranged. Select male plants with the same variety and flowering period as the female plants, with a male-to-female ratio of 25-50:1. The arrangement method uses a 5-tree or 7-tree square-center pattern, or can be arranged at the four corners. 2. Rational close planting: ginkgo grows relatively slowly in the early stage, and close planting can improve land utilization and increase yield per unit area. Generally, a spacing of 2.5 x 3 m or 3 x 3.5 m is used, with 88 or 63 plants established per mu. After the rows close, transplant by first moving every other row from the plant spacing, becoming a 5 x 3 m or 6 x 3 m spacing, with 44 or 31 plants per mu. After a few years, transplant every other row from the original row spacing, becoming a 5 x 6 m or 6 x 7 m spacing, with 22 or 16 plants established per mu. 3. Seedling specifications: improved varieties and strong seedlings are the material basis for early fruiting and high yield of ginkgo. Seedlings with a height-to-diameter ratio of 50:1 or more, a main root length of 30 cm, neat lateral roots, and current-year new shoot growth of more than 30 cm should be selected for planting. In addition, the seedlings must have robust terminal buds, full and plump lateral buds, and no pests or diseases. 4. Planting time: ginkgo is mainly planted in autumn with leaves, or in spring before leafing. Autumn planting is carried out in October-November, which can give the seedling root system a longer recovery period and prepare for the aboveground sprouting in the second spring. When planting before spring sprouting, because the aboveground part sprouts quickly and the root system does not have enough time to recover, growth is not as good as with autumn planting. 5. Planting method: when planting ginkgo, dig planting holes according to the designed row and plant spacing, with a specification of 0.5-0.8 x 0.6-0.8 m. After the holes are dug, backfill topsoil and apply fermented fertilizer containing calcium superphosphate. When planting, spread the seedling root system naturally, align it with the front, back, left and right seedlings, then fill in topsoil while firming it. The planting depth should be 2-3 cm above the original soil mark of the seedling after earthing up, and the seedling should not be buried too deep. After planting, water with root-setting water in time to improve the survival rate.Correct planting methods for ginkgo trees: 1 Sowing and raising seedlings 2 Propagation stage 3 Grafting propagation 4 Rooting in the soil 5 Growth process
Ginkgo propagation methods: cutting propagationCutting propagation can be divided into hardwood cutting and softwood cutting. Hardwood cutting is suitable for breeding seedlings for large-scale greening, while softwood cutting is suitable for breeding a small number of seedlings for households or landscape units. Hardwood cutting is generally carried out in spring from March to April. Collect cuttings from finished-product nurseries or select high-quality 1- to 2-year-old branches from large trees, cut them into 15 cm to 20 cm long cuttings, with the upper cut made smooth and round and the lower cut made in a horse-ear shape. After cutting, tie every 50 into a bundle, rinse clean with clear water, then soak for 1 hour in 100 ppm ABT rooting powder, and insert into fine yellow sand or loose seedbed soil. After cutting, water thoroughly and keep the soil moist. Roots can form after about 40 days. After survival, carry out normal management, and transplant in the second spring. Softwood cutting is from late May to mid-June. Cut cuttings from around the ginkgo root zone or from branches after they have sprouted but not yet lignified (cuttings about 2 cm long, retaining 2 leaves), insert them into a container and place in diffused light, change the water about every 3 days until callus tissue grows, then transplant into yellow sand or seedbed soil. However, around noon on sunny days, shade is needed, and the leaf surface should be sprayed 2 to 3 times. After survival, enter normal management.Division propagationDivision propagation is generally used to cultivate rootstock and seedlings for greening. Ginkgo is prone to suckering, especially trees 10 to 20 years old have the most suckers. In spring, division propagation can be carried out using the suckers. The method is to remove the soil around the root zone, cut off the sucker shoots with fibrous roots from the mother plant with a knife, and plant and cultivate them separately. Suckers from female plants can advance the fruiting age.Grafting propagationGrafting propagation is mostly used in fruit production. Green-branch grafting can be carried out from late May to early August, but grafting cannot be done under high-temperature and dry weather conditions, especially not at noon on sunny days, and rainy days should also be avoided for grafting. The specific method is: first collect robust perennial branches from excellent ginkgo mother trees, cut off one leaf on the scion, leaving only the petiole, and cut each segment with 2 to 3 buds. Then soak the lower end of the scion in water or wrap it in wet cloth, and it is best to graft as soon as it is collected. The grafting rootstock can be selected from 2- to 3-year-old seedling trees or cutting seedlings. For those used for early fruiting and close planting, the grafting position should be about 1 m. Generally, cleft grafting or cut grafting is used. Insert the cut surface of the scion inward into the rootstock incision so that the two fit together and the cambium layers align. Tie the interface well with plastic film tape. After grafting, it begins to bear fruit in 5 to 8 years.Seed propagationSeed propagation is mostly used for seedlings for large-scale greening or for making clump-style bonsai. After collecting seeds in autumn, remove the outer seed coat, dry the seeds with the fruit coat in the sun, and they can be sown in winter the same year or in spring the following year. If sown in spring, they must first undergo mixed-sand stratification to promote germination. When sowing, place the seed embryo horizontally in the sowing furrow, cover with 3 cm to 4 cm of soil after sowing and compact it. The seedlings can grow to 15 cm to 25 cm tall in the same year. After the leaves fall in autumn, they can be transplanted. However, it must be noted that the seedbed should be selected in a well-drained area to prevent water accumulation from rotting the part of the seedling near the ground.
Ginkgo disease control: stem rot(1) Distribution and harm: this disease commonly occurs in all ginkgo seedling-raising areas. It mostly appears in 1- to 2-year-old ginkgo seedling trees, and is especially severe in one-year-old seedlings, often causing large numbers of seedlings to die. (2) Symptoms: at the early stage of the disease, the base of the seedling turns brown, the leaves lose their normal green color and droop slightly downward, but do not fall off. The infected part rapidly spreads upward, until the whole plant dies. The cortex at the base of the diseased seedling shrinks, and the tissue inside the bark decays into a spongy or powdery state, grayish white, mixed with many fine small black sclerotia. The pathogen of this disease can also invade the xylem of the seedling, so small sclerotia are sometimes also seen in the brown hollow pith. Thereafter the pathogen gradually spreads to the roots, causing the root cortex to rot. If the diseased seedling is pulled by hand, only the xylem can be pulled out, while the root cortex remains in the soil. In ginkgo cutting seedlings under high or low temperature conditions, stem rot can also occur, causing the cutting epidermis to remain like a tube around the xylem, while the phloem parenchyma tissue all turns black and rots. (3) Pathogen: the pathogen of ginkgo stem rot is Macrophomiaphas-oli (Maubl) ashby, of the order Sphaeropsidales, family Sphaeropsidaceae, genus Macrophoma. This fungus likes high temperature, with a suitable growth temperature of 30-32°C; it has no strict requirement for pH and can grow well between pH 4-9. (4) Disease occurrence pattern: the stem rot pathogen usually lives saprophytically in the soil and is a weak parasitic fungus. Under suitable conditions it invades from seedling wounds. Therefore, disease occurrence is related to the host and site environmental conditions. The fundamental cause of seedling damage is that the surface temperature is too high, and after the seedling base is burned by high temperature, the pathogen invades. The lower the degree of lignification of the seedling, the higher the incidence of this disease. When the seedbed is low-lying and waterlogged, the incidence also increases noticeably. For ginkgo cutting seedlings, in June-August when the seedbed high temperature reaches above 30°C, the disease begins 10-15 d after cutting, and in severe cases large areas of scions turn black and die. Experiments have proven that antagonistic actinomycetes can effectively inhibit the spread and diffusion of this disease pathogen. (5) Control methods: according to the causes of ginkgo stem rot, prevention should be primary. 1. Sow early: sow as soon as the soil thaws. This measure helps the seedlings lignify early and enhances resistance to high surface soil temperatures. 2. Rational dense sowing: dense sowing helps give play to the population effect of seedlings and enhances resistance to adverse external environments. Experiments have proven that the lower the seedling density, the higher the incidence; the greater the density, the lower the incidence. Practice has also proven that where 25-40 kg of seeds were sown per mu in the past, if changed to a sowing rate of 80-100 kg of seeds per mu, not only is the incidence reduced, but the seedling output per unit is also increased, saving land and reducing disease. 3. Control underground pests: after seedlings are harmed by underground pests, they are very easily infected by the stem rot pathogen. Therefore, before and after sowing, always pay attention to eliminating underground pests. 4. Prevent mechanical damage to seedlings: for current-year sown seedlings or one-year-old transplanted seedlings, during loosening soil and weeding or during lifting and planting of seedlings, be sure not to damage the root crown of the seedlings, otherwise it is very easy to cause stem rot. 5. Shade and cool down: to prevent solar radiation from raising ground temperature, seedling-raising land should adopt measures such as building shade sheds, covering grass between rows, planting corn, and inserting branches for shading to reduce harm to seedlings. 6. Irrigation and spraying: in high-temperature seasons, irrigate and spray water in time to lower surface temperature. Where conditions permit, sprinkler irrigation can be adopted, which is more conducive to reducing disease occurrence. 7. Chemical and biological control: combined with irrigation, spray various fungicides such as thiophanate-methyl, carbendazim, Bordeaux mixture and so on. Antagonistic actinomycetes can also be added when topdressing organic fertilizer in mid-June, or plant ash/calcium superphosphate (1/0.25) can be topdressed with antagonistic actinomycetes added.Leaf blight(1) Distribution and harm: this disease occurs to varying degrees in concentrated ginkgo production areas such as Guangxi, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shandong. Generally, old production areas have more severe disease than new production areas. According to reports, ginkgo plants cultivated near metasequoia trees have noticeably more severe disease, and the incidence in female plants is higher than in male plants. In infected plants, in mild cases some leaves die and fall early, and in severe cases all leaves are lost, leading to weakened tree vigor and poor growth and development. (2) Symptoms: at the early stage of the disease, the leaf tips commonly turn yellow. In June, the yellow parts gradually turn brown and die, and spread from local areas to the entire leaf margin, forming brown to reddish-brown leaf margin lesions. Thereafter, the lesions gradually spread toward the leaf base until the entire leaf turns brown or grayish brown and withers and falls off. In July-August, the boundary between the lesion and healthy tissue is obvious, the lesion edge is wavy, the color is darker, and a narrower or wider bright yellow line band can also be seen at the outer edge. From September, the lesions noticeably enlarge, the spreading edge appears uneven, and the boundary between diseased and healthy tissue gradually becomes less obvious. In addition, in September-October, leaves on seedlings or suckers at the base of large trees produce several irregular faded spots at random positions, with brown centers. Although these spots do not noticeably enlarge, they often connect with the extending leaf margin spots. (3) Pathogen: the pathogen of ginkgo leaf blight is relatively complex. According to research, at least 3 pathogens have been identified, namely Alternaria alternata (fr.) Keissl, Glomerella cingulata (Stonem) Spauld. et Schrenk, and Pestalotiaginkgohori. In addition, fruiting bodies of various fungi such as Alternaria, Colletotrichum, Pestalotia and Cercospora can be seen on the lesions. (4) Relationship between disease occurrence and the environment: observations have proven that large trees are more disease-resistant than seedlings, and the incidence in female plants increases noticeably with increasing fruit load. In addition, root rot caused by water accumulation at the roots or weakened tree vigor can also lead to early and severe disease. Generally speaking, those with base fertilizer applied are less susceptible than those with topdressing; winter fertilization has a lower incidence than spring fertilization. Ginkgo intercropped with soybean has relatively mild disease, intercropping with pine has severe disease, and being close to metasequoia trees causes severe disease, while the opposite is mild. The reason may be that the pathogen of this disease is the same as the pathogen of the intercropped tree species (such as metasequoia red blight). (5) Control methods: 1. Strengthen management and enhance tree vigor. For example, strive for winter fertilization, avoid water accumulation, completely avoid intercropping with pine and metasequoia, improve the quality of seedling planting, shorten the recovery period, and enhance the disease resistance of seedlings. In addition, control excessive fruiting of female plants to prevent the spread of this disease on large ginkgo trees. 2. Chemical control: spray broad-spectrum fungicides such as thiophanate-methyl before the disease occurs. Or from early June, spray 40% carbendazim suspension concentrate at 500 times dilution or 90% ethylicin at 1000 times dilution, once every 20 d, for a total of 6 sprays, which can effectively prevent the occurrence of this disease.
Dieback
Symptoms: after the pathogen invades, smooth lesions are produced on the smooth bark, round or irregular in shape. Thereafter the lesions continue to expand, the affected part gradually swells, and longitudinal cracks appear in the bark. In spring, many withered-yellow wart-like ascostromata can be seen on the affected bark, 1-3 mm in diameter. When the weather is humid, pale yellow to yellow tendril-like conidial horns are squeezed out from the ascostromata. In autumn, the stromata turn withered red to sauce red, and perithecia gradually form in the middle. Between the cortex and xylem of diseased trees, a feather-like fan-shaped mycelial layer can be seen, initially dirty white, later yellow-brown. The lesions on infected branches and trunks spread, gradually causing the bark to become ring-like necrotic, and finally leading to the death of branches and the plant.
Pathogen: ginkgo dieback, also known as ginkgo canker. The pathogen is a fungus of the class Ascomycetes, order Sphaeriales. This pathogen can also infect forest trees such as Chinese chestnut.
Disease pattern: The pathogen enters through wounds and overwinters as mycelium and pycnidia in diseased branches, becoming active again when temperatures rise. In the Yangtze River basin and south of the Yangtze River, symptoms begin to appear from late March to early April and expand more rapidly as temperatures rise, continuing until late October. Conidia are spread by rainwater, insects and birds, and can cause repeated infections. It is distributed in all major ginkgo production areas nationwide and is commonly seen on weakened ginkgo trees.
Control methods
1. Strengthen management, improve tree vigor and enhance plant resistance. This is the key measure for controlling ginkgo dieback.
2. Severely diseased trees and diseased dead branches should be promptly cleaned up and destroyed to thoroughly eliminate the pathogen.
3. Promptly scrape off the diseased lesions, and apply 1:100 Bordeaux mixture, or 50% carbendazim wettable powder at 100 times dilution, or 0.1 mercuric chloride water, 1% ferrous sulfate solution, or lime whitewash to the wounds to kill the pathogen and prevent its spread.Early-stage chlorosis(1) Distribution and damage This disease occurs to varying degrees in all concentrated ginkgo production areas. Moreover, chlorotic plants are more susceptible to leaf blight, leading to premature leaf drop, significantly slower height and diameter growth, reduced seed yield, and even death of the entire plant. (2) Symptoms In Shandong and Jiangsu provinces, this disease appears around early June, mostly scattered. From late June to July, the number of chlorotic plants gradually increases, occurring in small patches. In mild cases, only the tip of the leaf turns chlorotic, appearing bright yellow; in severe cases, the entire leaf becomes chlorotic. Because the leaves turn chlorotic early, this also causes ginkgo leaf blight to occur prematurely; by August, the entire leaf turns brown, dries up and drops in large numbers. (3) Pathogen Research suggests that early-stage ginkgo chlorosis is caused by non-biological infection. The main causes of its occurrence are: insufficient water, damage by underground pests, waterlogging of the soil, root damage during seedling lifting or cramped roots during planting, and zinc deficiency in the soil. (4) Control methods: ① Apply multizinc: in late May, apply 141 g of multizinc per seedling, which can reduce the incidence rate by 95%, and the disease susceptibility index is also significantly reduced. ② Promptly control underground pests such as white grubs, mole crickets and wireworms. ③ Prevent soil waterlogging, strengthen loosening of the soil and weed control, and improve soil permeability. ④ Protect seedlings from damage, and prevent cramped roots and root damage during planting. ⑤ Irrigate at the proper time to prevent severe drought. Ginkgo dieback (1) Distribution and damage This disease, also known as ginkgo trunk blight, is found in Hebei, Henan, Shaanxi, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Guangxi and other provinces (autonomous regions). In addition to harming ginkgo, it also harms tree species such as Chinese chestnut. The disease occurs on the trunk and branches; after infection, the lesions rapidly surround the branches and trunk, often causing the death of the entire branch or the whole plant. (2) Symptoms After the pathogen invades the trunk or branches through wounds, discolored lesions appear on smooth bark; the lesions are round or irregular, and on rough bark the lesion margins are not obvious. Afterward, the lesions continue to expand and gradually swell, and the bark splits longitudinally. In spring, many dead-yellow warty stromata, 1-3 mm in diameter, can be seen on the affected bark. When the weather is humid, pale yellow or yellow tendril-like cirrhi of conidia squeeze out from the warty stromata. After autumn, the stromata turn orange-red to sauce-red. Later, perithecia gradually form. Between the bark and xylem of diseased trees, a feather-like fan-shaped mycelial layer can be seen, initially dirty white, later yellow-brown. (3) Pathogen The pathogen of ginkgo dieback is Cryphonectria parasitica, in the genus Endothia, order Diaporthales, class Ascomycetes. (4) Disease pattern Both conidia and ascospores of the pathogen can cause infection. The fungus overwinters as mycelium and pycnidia on diseased branches, and when temperatures rise the following spring, the pathogen becomes active. In the Yangtze River basin and areas south of the Yangtze River, symptoms begin to appear from late March to early April, and after late June the lesions expand noticeably, especially from July to September when lesion expansion is fastest. In the Yangtze River basin, the asexual generation of the pathogen begins to appear from late April to early May. Conidia are spread everywhere by rainwater, insects and birds and can cause multiple reinfections. From October to November, orange-red stromata bearing embedded perithecia appear on the bark, and by early December the ascospores mature. Ascospores are spread by wind, and the pathogen invades through host wounds. The fan-shaped mycelial layer beneath the bark of diseased trees has strong resistance to adverse environments and can survive the winter. (5) Control methods: ① Because the pathogen is a weak parasite, it infects only when tree vigor is extremely weak. Therefore, management should be strengthened to improve tree vigor and reduce disease occurrence. ② Thoroughly remove diseased plants and diseased branches, and diseased branches should be burned promptly. ③ Chemical control. For individual lesions on the trunk or branches, scraping treatment can be carried out and the wounds disinfected promptly. The scraping depth can reach the xylem, then apply 0.1% HgCl2 or Shengping solution (0.5 mercuric chloride + 0.2% Pingpingjia + 97.5 clear water) to the wounds to kill the pathogen. After scraping, apply 400-500 times dilution of antibacterial agent 401 plus 0.1% Pingpingjia to the wounds, or apply the fungicide thiophanate-methyl or 10% alkaline water to the wounds, which also gives good results.
Ginkgo cultivar classification Famous ancient trees Guizhou ancient treesThe largest ginkgo tree in the world is in Fuquan, Guizhou, with a tree age of about 5,000-6,000 years, a root diameter of 5.8 m, a tree height of 50 m, and a diameter at breast height of 4.79 m; it takes 13 people to encircle it with their arms. It was entered into the Shanghai Guinness Records in 2001 and is praised as the thickest ginkgo tree in the world.Shandong ancient treesLocated in the Xincun Ginkgo Industrial Development Zone of Tancheng County, Shandong Province, known as the "Hometown of Chinese Ginkgo", it is the largest male ginkgo tree discovered so far. The tree is 42 m tall and more than 8 m in circumference. According to the records in Beichuang Suoji, this tree was planted in the Zhou Dynasty and is said to have been planted by the ruler of the State of Tan, with a history of 3,000 years. In Dinglin Temple at Fulai Mountain, Ju County, Rizhao City, Shandong Province, there is a large ginkgo tree with a history of more than 3,000 years. Legend says this ginkgo tree was planted during the Duke of Zhou's eastern expedition in the early Western Zhou Dynasty. Historical records state that the Duke of Zhou's eastern expedition once passed east of "Guimeng", so it is somewhat credible that he set foot on Fulai Mountain. This ginkgo tree has extremely strong vitality and is still lush with branches and leaves today. The contemporary calligrapher Mr. Wang Binglong wrote the inscription "The Number One Ginkgo Tree in the World" for it. Located at the entrance of Beilaizhuangpu Village, Tanyi Town, Fei County, Linyi City, Shandong Province, standing by the Zhulong River, the county annals record that this tree was documented in the early Tang Dynasty, at least about 1,500 years ago. The tree is more than 40 m tall, with luxuriant branches and leaves and a beautiful form. According to the leaders of the Linyi Forestry Bureau, there are 31 ginkgo trees over a thousand years old in Linyi, and this tree is rarely seen in both age and size. At the west end of Dasi Village, Shiheng Town, Feicheng City, Shandong Province, there was originally an ancient temple called Zhengjue Temple. Behind the temple there is a ginkgo tree, said to have been planted in the Han Dynasty. The tree is 22.15 m tall, with a diameter at breast height of 1.72 m, a base circumference of 10.35 m, a crown diameter of 21.3 m east-west and 15.5 m north-south. The four branches above the main trunk each have a diameter of about 1 m, with gnarled and luxuriant branches, shading nearly 1 mu, and bearing abundant fruit every year.Hubei ancient ginkgoIn Luoyang Town, Zengdu District, Suizhou City, Hubei Province, there is a thousand-year-old ancient ginkgo tree community with the densest distribution and the best preservation in the country and even the world. The Ginkgo Valley stretches for 12 km, containing 308 ginkgo trees over a thousand years old, more than 17,000 ginkgo trees over a hundred years old, and 5.1 million wild ginkgo trees in pristine condition. In the area, ancient ginkgo trees connect into patches and form communities, hidden among the hills and gathering into a valley, and it is one of the world's four densely continuous ancient ginkgo communities. Every golden autumn, the Thousand-Year Ginkgo Valley turns golden everywhere, a magnificent sight. The ancient ginkgo community is organically combined with the surrounding semi-hilly and semi-mountainous terrain, lakes and rivers, and rural farmhouses, setting each other off. In 2003, the Suizhou ginkgo forest as a whole was included in the national nature reserve list with an area of 171,400 sq km, becoming the largest wild plant ginkgo nature reserve in the country. Wangyizhen Town, Anlu City, Hubei Province, is a township that combines old revolutionary base, mountainous and border areas. Within its territory is China's second-largest ancient ginkgo community, including 48 ancient ginkgo trees over a thousand years old, 1,036 ancient ginkgo trees over 500 years old, and 4,370 trees over 100 years old. At Maoziwan, Wuduhe Town, Yiling, Yichang, Hubei Province, a thousand-year-old ginkgo tree was reborn from fire and has been placed under listing protection by the relevant departments. Legend says that when Emperor Shenzong of Song ascended the throne, natural disasters occurred throughout the country. To pray for sweet rain from heaven and ensure a good harvest in the fertile fields, the people asked a Taoist master, a heavenly teacher, to plant a ginkgo tree on the most barren ridge. Later, no matter whether there was drought or flood, this place could still guarantee a harvest. During the 2008 Spring Festival, a major fire burned this ginkgo tree for a day and a night. Just when people were grieving that this thousand-year-old ginkgo tree would die, the ancient tree later miraculously revived and has now received protection from the relevant departments.Sichuan ancient ginkgoThe oldest ginkgo tree in the Chengdu area. It is said to have been planted by Zhang Tianshi 1,800 years ago, but its actual age is more than 2,000 years (the latest measurement in 2012 gave a tree age of 2,500 years). The ancient ginkgo tree is about more than 50 m tall, with a trunk circumference of 7.06 m and a diameter of 2.24 m. Dense stalactite-like growths (tree shoots) hang from its waist and body, with a color like coarse and heavy stone and shapes like pestles, shoots and cones. On the trunk there seems to be slowly flowing rock mucus, appearing to move yet not moving, very strange. On July 13, 2009, the ancient ginkgo tree in Group 4 of Longyang Village, Duiyan Town, Yucheng District, was preliminarily confirmed by the Chinese Ginkgo Research Society as the largest ancient ginkgo tree in Sichuan Province. This ancient tree is more than 3,000 years old, with a trunk circumference of 845 cm and a height of more than 23 m, with a peculiar shape and strong, vigorous branches. It grows on Baiguoshu Street in Langzhong City, Nanchong, and was planted during the Western and Eastern Han dynasties, with a tree age of 1,800 years. In August 2000, the ancient ginkgo tree became a "famous ancient tree" under listing protection by the Langzhong City government, and Baiguoshu Street was named because of the thousand-year-old ancient ginkgo tree. It was discovered in Group 4 of Baiguo Village, Dahua Township, Chongzhou, less than 40 km from Chengdu. This ginkgo tree has a trunk circumference of 9.84 m and a trunk diameter of 3.04 m, among which the circumference of the trunk above 2 m reaches 5.2 m. The oldest ginkgo in the five urban districts of central Chengdu is located in Baihuatan Park, with a tree age of 1,700 years. It grew in the Tang Dynasty, was burned in the late Ming Dynasty, and was struck by lightning again in the Qing Dynasty. Despite its ill fate, it is still lush with branches and leaves today. This ancient ginkgo tree, numbered 0371, was excavated and transplanted into the park from near Guanyin Temple in Xuankou Town, Wenchuan County, Aba Prefecture in 1983. After cultivation by landscape experts, this old tree gradually took deep root and grew luxuriant leaves and put out many new shoots.Zhejiang ancient ginkgoThe ancient ginkgo tree in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, was planted in the Sui Dynasty, with a tree age of 1,410 years. The old ginkgo is more than 20 m tall, and its crown spreads as large as 20 round table tops. Around the roots, many large and small branches and trunks have sprouted, shaped like "descendants filling the hall".Henan ginkgoThe ancient tree in Shenlou Village, Shangqiu Economic and Technological Development Zone, according to verification, is a remnant tree of the 300-li Liang Garden of the State of Liang in the Western Han Dynasty. It has a history of more than 2,000 years and is still lush with branches and leaves, not "looking old". Having endured two thousand years of historical wind and frost, it is still thick, tall and imposing, and its cracked yellow-brown bark is like a suit of armor. Its crown blocks the sky and sun, reaching more than 2,000 sq m. In the Wangwu Mountain Scenic Area of Wangwu Township, Jiyuan City, Henan Province, there is a ginkgo tree 35.5 m tall with a trunk circumference of 9.1 m, with a tall and straight trunk and luxuriant branches and leaves. Its tree age is about 2,000 years, said to be a relic of the Han Dynasty. It has the reputation of being a "living fossil of Chinese plants". People call it "seven arm spans and eight canes". The ginkgo tree in Longwangzhang, Xianghe Township, Biyang County, Zhumadian, is more than 30 m tall and more than 10 m thick, and eight people cannot encircle it with their arms. There is a spring in the tree that overflows water in all four seasons and does not dry up even in severe drought. Related cultivars By seed kernel shapeFive major categories: Changzi type, Foshou type, Maling type, Meihe type, and Yuanzi type.By cultivated cultivarCultivated cultivar types and representative cultivars Nut cultivars: Jiafozhi, Maling No. 3 (Kuiling), Dajinguo, Dongtinghuang, Dameihe, Haiyanghuang Leaf cultivars: Gaoyou Y-2, Anlu No. 1, WL43
Ornamental cultivars: Yezhi ginkgo, Jindai ginkgo, Duolie ginkgo, Chuiru ginkgo Male cultivars: G♂-12#, Songyou No. 1, Guangxi Zaohua Timber cultivars: Yuwan No. 9, Zhigan ginkgo S-31Seed cultivarsThese are traditional superior cultivars selected and bred over many years in various ginkgo production areas, such as Taixing Fozhi, Dongting Foshou, Tancheng Jinzhui, Maling, Tancheng Yuanling, and so on.
Ginkgo's Hometown of Ginkgo
Taixing City, Jiangsu Province, China, is called the "Hometown of Ginkgo" by many people. Taixing has fertile soil, abundant rainfall, four distinct seasons and rich products, and the area is rich in ginkgo. In 1996, the Development Research Center of the State Council of China awarded Taixing City the title "Hometown of Chinese Ginkgo", and in 2000 it was named by China's State Forestry Administration among the first batch of "Hometown of Chinese Famous, Special and Excellent Economic Forest Ginkgo". Taixing ginkgo is famous for its high yield and good quality. The whole city has planted 4.512 million ginkgo trees, of which 298,100 are fruiting trees, and the annual output of ginkgo nuts is normally around 3,000 tons, accounting for more than one-third of China's total output.
In addition to Taixing, Pizhou City, Jiangsu Province, was named in March 2000 by the State Forestry Administration among the first batch of "China Famous, Special and Excellent Economic Forest - Hometown of Ginkgo".
Ginkgo's cultural background Ancient ginkgoAccording to statistics, there are about 12 ginkgo trees over 5,000 years old nationwide, of which Guizhou Province alone accounts for 9. They are mainly distributed within 200 km around Guiyang, namely: 1 in Fuquan, 2 in Changshun, 2 in Duyun, 2 in Zunyi, 1 in Anshun, and 1 in Majiang. The largest ginkgo tree in the world is in Fuquan. This ginkgo tree is a male tree, about 6,000 years old, with a base diameter of 5.8 m, wider than an ordinary living room. The first-generation tree of this tree has already died and the heart is hollow, while the outer part is the second-generation tree. The tree is 50 m tall, and it takes 13 people to encircle it with their arms. It was entered into the Shanghai Guinness Records in 2001 and is praised as the thickest ginkgo tree in the world. It is said that an old person once lived inside it for a long time and kept a cow there.Chengdu city treeIn 1983, Chengdu officially named the ginkgo tree as the city tree of Chengdu. According to a survey by the Chengdu Gardens Bureau, there are 2,042 ancient ginkgo trees in ten districts of Chengdu including Qingyang, Wuhou and Chenghua. According to statistics from the Chengdu Forestry and Gardens Bureau, there are nearly 1,800 listed ancient and famous trees in the city, and ginkgo occupies more than half of them, with nearly 1,000 trees. Moreover, among the ten oldest ancient trees in Chengdu, 8 are ginkgo, and only 2 are other species. Located beside the bus station on the west side of Tianfu Square in the city center of Chengdu, two ancient ginkgo trees now stand in the middle of Tianfu Square West Road. Both ancient trees are more than 300 years old and have witnessed the city's vicissitudes. The oldest ginkgo in the five urban districts of central Chengdu is located in Baihuatan Park, with a tree age of 1,700 years. The remaining thousand-year-old ginkgo trees in the five urban districts are respectively located: 1 at No. 100 Shaanxi Street, Wangjiaguai Subdistrict Office, Qingyang District; 1 at the Sinopec Building, No. 91 Tidu Street; 1 in Baihuatan Park; 2 behind the Sutra Collection Building of the Du Fu Thatched Cottage Museum; and 2 in Jinniu Hotel. The suburban counties of Chengdu near the western Sichuan mountains are the main distribution area of ginkgo. In 2002, a thousand-year-old ginkgo with a trunk circumference of 9.84 m was discovered in Chongzhou. The ancient ginkgo of Baiyan Temple in Dayi County, the ancient ginkgo of Jitou Town, and the ancient ginkgo of Xilin in Pengzhou are all famous ancient trees within greater Chengdu. The oldest ginkgo tree in Chengdu is located in Tianshi Cave on Qingcheng Mountain, Dujiangyan, with a tree age of 2,500 years. There are many places in Chengdu to admire ginkgo, such as Jinxiu Street and Jinxiu Lane, Baiguolin Community and Yinxing Road, Du Fu Thatched Cottage, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, and especially Jinxiu Street and Jinxiu Lane, which were built in 2010 as Chengdu's first ginkgo cultural block. In 2010, the ginkgo cultural block located in Jinxiu Street and Jinxiu Lane, Tiaosanta Subdistrict, Wuhou District, Chengdu, was officially completed. This is Chengdu's first ginkgo-themed cultural block. Jinxiu Street and Jinxiu Lane in Tiaosanta Subdistrict, Wuhou District, are planted all over with ginkgo trees. The two ginkgo avenues are more than 400 m long and are the most densely planted ginkgo area in Chengdu. Following the idea of "building an ecological block, displaying the ginkgo landscape, shaping a cultural block, and improving the living environment", the block was built into a distinctive block themed on "ginkgo" that integrates leisure and scenery appreciation for citizens. The block highlights four major themes: "tasting ginkgo", "chanting ginkgo", "savoring ginkgo" and "knowing ginkgo". "Tasting ginkgo", "chanting ginkgo", "savoring ginkgo" and "knowing ginkgo" each contain different meanings. "Tasting ginkgo" uses the cultural wall at the entrance of the street to show the aesthetic value of ginkgo; "chanting ginkgo" uses the openwork walls of the street to show the literary value of ginkgo; "savoring ginkgo" uses the surrounding openwork walls and publicity boards to introduce the different uses of ginkgo; and "knowing ginkgo" uses the planting beds along the street to set up ginkgo-themed sculptures and landscape stones to introduce knowledge and allusions related to ginkgo.Dandong city treeIn March 1984, after deliberation and approval by the Second Session of the Ninth Dandong Municipal People's Congress, the ginkgo tree was officially named the city tree of Dandong. Ginkgo trees have a history of thousands of years in Dandong. As early as the early 1930s, Dandong transplanted ginkgo trees along both sides of streets. According to documentary verification, there are only 6 streets planted with century-old ginkgo trees in cities around the world today, and Dandong has 3 of them. Dandong is the city in Asian countries with the most ginkgo trees over a hundred years old. A ginkgo tree in the Dagu Mountain temple in Dandong has a tree age of more than 1,300 years and a height of 35 m, and its fruit reaches hundreds of kilograms every year. In the streets, alleys and parks of Dandong's urban area, a considerable number of ginkgo trees aged 300-500 years are distributed, and the main streets of the urban area are almost covered by ginkgo trees over a hundred years old. Most of the street trees in Kuandian County and Yongdian Town under the jurisdiction of Dandong City are ginkgo trees, with beautiful tree forms and pleasant scenery. According to statistics, Dandong City has nearly 1,000 large ginkgo trees over 80 years old and more than 4,000 trees over 30 years old. The city's ginkgo nursery land reaches more than 1,000 mu, with more than 1.5 million trees in stock. The people of Dandong love ginkgo trees and have carefully planted and protected them for many years, enabling ginkgo trees to grow vigorously and develop rapidly on this border-city fertile land of Dandong.Huzhou city treeChangxing ginkgo in Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, can be called "the hometown of ginkgo". Changxing ginkgo is connected with three emperors. Legend says that when Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of Han, was a crown prince fleeing disaster, he once roasted ginkgo in Badujie to satisfy his hunger; after Chen Baxian of Changxing became emperor, he personally planted a ginkgo tree at Xiazhuo Temple in his hometown and went to Badujie Sishen Pond to fish for dragon fish; the people of Changxing originally called ginkgo "baiguo", and when it was presented as tribute in the Song Dynasty, the emperor saw that it resembled a small apricot but was white as silver, and imperially bestowed the name "ginkgo". The dragon throne of the Northern Song emperor was made from 12 ginkgo boards from throughout the realm, and Changxing ginkgo was specially made into the chair surface because of its fine wood texture. China's Ancient Ginkgo Corridor is located in Badujie, Xiaopu Town, Changxing. The 12.5-km-long ginkgo forest has become a scenic line featuring "original, wild and strange" characteristics. People praise it saying, "Travel all the scenery in the world, yet it is hard to see an ancient ginkgo tree community." As a "sacred tree" or "feng shui tree", ginkgo generally appears only in very small numbers in temples or at village entrances. Ginkgo can fully represent Huzhou's classical elegance, fresh and tranquil characteristics, and also represents the hardworking, simple and endlessly enduring spirit of the people of Huzhou.Linyi city treeTo improve the quality of urban construction and establish a good image of openness to the outside world, Linyi City, Shandong Province, designated ginkgo as the city tree. Tancheng County in Linyi is one of the four famous major ginkgo production areas in the country and has the reputation of being "the number one county of ginkgo in the world". The county has planted 7 million ginkgo trees, including 28,000 large trees over a hundred years old, with an annual output of 2 million kg of ginkgo, and ginkgo production has become a pillar industry of the county's economy. Tancheng is one of the few concentrated ginkgo production areas in the country and is famous nationwide as the hometown of ginkgo, with a long history of ginkgo cultivation. According to verification, ginkgo cultivation within its territory dates back as early as the Zhengguang period of the Northern Wei Dynasty (520-524). An ancient ginkgo at the former Guanzhu Temple site in the Ancient Ginkgo and Plum Garden at the seat of Xincun Township, 37.5 m tall with a diameter at breast height of 2.24 m, already has a history of 1,490 years and can be called the number one male ginkgo tree in the country - the "King of Ginkgo". In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, ginkgo cultivation in the county entered its peak period. Baiguoshu Village in Shengli Township, built in the mid-Ming Dynasty, was named because there were two ginkgo trees in front of the village. An ancient ginkgo east of Qiannian Village, Gangshang Town, planted during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, produced up to 450 kg of ginkgo annually, and was cut down by 1985. An ancient ginkgo in the schoolyard of Houyan Village Primary School, Gangshang Town, has a tree age of more than 400 years. In the Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China period, ginkgo production in the county entered its second peak period. Along both banks of the Yi River, from Xincun in the south to Matou in the north, continuous ginkgo forests stretched without interruption. During this period, the first development peak was in the early Qianlong period, the second in the middle and late Qianlong period, the third in the middle Guangxu period, and the fourth in the early Republic of China period. Many large ginkgo gardens established in the above periods still remain in the county, mainly distributed in townships such as Xincun, Gangshang and Chongfang. Ginkgo is one of the main cultivated fruit trees in the county. It is recorded in books such as Chinese Ginkgo and Afforestation Techniques for Major Tree Species in China.PizhouPizhou is the hometown of ginkgo and one of the five major ginkgo production areas in China. Pizhou has a long history of ginkgo cultivation, with historical records as early as the Zhengguang period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, more than 1,400 years ago. However, judging from the large number of ancient relics such as Han Dynasty Pictorial Stones unearthed in Pizhou in recent years, the history of ginkgo cultivation in Pizhou can be traced back to before the Han Dynasty, only without historical records. In ancient Pizhou, people had long had the tradition of planting ginkgo, especially in the alluvial plain of the Yi River, where the planting scale was relatively large. Through the changes of feudal dynasties and the influence of wars, the people still retained the tradition of planting ginkgo. Although the ginkgo planting industry suffered severe damage during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and later during the "Great Leap Forward", there are still 12 thousand-year-old ancient ginkgo trees in Pizhou, 69 large ginkgo trees over 500 years old, and 4,160 large ginkgo trees over 100 years old. Since reform and opening up, Pizhou's ginkgo planting industry has developed greatly. In the early 1990s, due to the introduction of new ginkgo leaf extraction technology, the development of the ginkgo leaf extraction and processing industry drove the rapid expansion of the planting scale of ginkgo leaf-picking gardens. Pizhou Ginkgo Expo Garden: located in Gangshang Town, Pizhou City, officially established in 2002. In May 2002 it was approved as a provincial-level ginkgo forest park in Jiangsu, and in April 2004 it was approved as a national-level ginkgo expo garden, the only national-level forest park for a single tree species in the country.Taixing, JiangsuTaixing City, Jiangsu Province, has more than 5 million ginkgo trees in the whole city, and is especially famous worldwide for producing "Dafozhi ginkgo", which has large fruit, full kernels, abundant pulp, thin shells, heavy grains, white color, sweet and glutinous taste, and good storability. Annual income from ginkgo reaches hundreds of millions of yuan, and health products from ginkgo leaves and ginkgo nuts have been developed.
Historical cultureThe plants closely related to it had already emerged 270 million years ago and belong to the division Ginkgophyta. In the late Jurassic about more than 100 million years ago, ginkgo-like plants were widely distributed on Earth. The present ginkgo is the only surviving member of this division, so it is also called a "living fossil (relict plant)".
Chinese people have a long history of planting ginkgo, and it is said that some trees in temples are already 1,500 years old [source requested]. Because Buddhism considers ginkgo a sacred tree, monks planted them in temples and cared for them for thousands of years. Europeans first saw ginkgo in 1691, planted in a Japanese Buddhist temple garden. Because ginkgo is famous in both Confucianism and Buddhism, many people in Japan and Korea also plant ginkgo. In 1712, a German doctor introduced it to Europe. Although ginkgo is found everywhere, wild ginkgo was not discovered until modern times in Zhejiang Province, China. However, some in the West believe that these ginkgo trees may not be wild, but were planted by monks more than a thousand years ago.
Ginkgo trees generally live very long and are known as "thousand-year ginkgo". The tree can grow very tall and large. There is one 40 m tall in Lijiawan, Guizhou, and another 60 m tall in Gansu. There is a ginkgo tree in Xincun Township, Tancheng County, said to have a history of 3,000 years. It is a male tree and is locally known as the "Old Sacred Tree". Below Fulai Mountain in Ju County, Shandong Province, there is a ginkgo tree with a tree age of more than 3,000 years. Legend says this ginkgo tree was planted during the Duke of Zhou's eastern expedition in the early Western Zhou Dynasty. Historical records state that the Duke of Zhou's eastern expedition once passed east of "Guimeng", so it is somewhat credible that he set foot on Fulai Mountain. This ginkgo tree has extremely strong vitality and is still lush with branches and leaves today. The contemporary calligrapher Mr. Wang Binglong wrote the inscription "The Number One Ginkgo Tree in the World" for it. The tree is miraculous, and the stories inspired by the tree are also very amusing.
Legend says that during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, a scholar from eastern Ju County went to the capital for the imperial examination. On the way he encountered rain, so he took shelter under this huge ginkgo tree. Suddenly inspired, he wanted to investigate just how thick the tree was, so he used hugging to measure the tree's circumference. The scholar actually hugged it seven times and still had not returned to the starting point. Just as he was about to hug it for the eighth time, he was frightened by what he saw - a young woman was standing at the starting point of his measurement. It turned out that the young woman had also come under the large ginkgo tree to take shelter from the rain. Because the tree was too large, neither of them had seen the other. What was to be done? The scholar wanted to ask the young woman to move aside, but was too embarrassed to speak, yet he did not want to give up his measurement, so he had no choice but to switch to using hand spans and quietly move past the young woman. When he counted to the eighth span, he happened to reach the young woman's side, and she did not even notice. But how should the space occupied by the young woman's body be measured? The scholar could think of no other way, so he had to count the young woman's body width as one length in the measurement. Thus the ginkgo tree's circumference became "seven hugs, eight spans and one wife". Several hundred years have passed, and the ginkgo tree's circumference has long exceeded "seven hugs, eight spans and one wife", but the amusing story of "seven hugs, eight spans and one wife" has been passed down from generation to generation in the surrounding villages. Liu Xie wrote the world's first great masterpiece of literary criticism, The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, here. Guo Moruo once came to this mountain to pay his respects and personally inscribed "Wenxin Pavilion" and "Jiaojing Tower". The Zuo Zhuan records: "In the eighth year of Duke Yin of Lu (715 BC), on the xinmao day of the ninth month, the duke and the people of Ju made a covenant at Fulai." It can be seen that the tree was already providing dense shade at that time and had become a famous tree. Experts have verified that this tree has a history of at least 3,500 years. The tree is now 26.3 m tall, its crown shades more than 20 mu, and its trunk circumference is 15.7 m; it takes eight people stretching out their arms to encircle it. This ancient tree is a tree species left from the Ice Age and is known as a "living fossil". According to appraisal by experts from the Ministry of Forestry, it is "the number one ginkgo tree in the world". This ancient ginkgo has gone through many vicissitudes, and there is a poem saying: Suddenly seeing the ginkgo tree towering to the sky, having seen all vicissitudes without counting the years. The cypresses of Qin and pines of Han are all later generations; its roots coil before the ancient Buddha was born.
During the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, Chen Quanguo, the prefect of Ju Prefecture, erected a stone stele with an inscribed poem:
The great tree coils like a dragon to meet the Marquess of Lu, mist and clouds like a canopy cover Fuqiu. Its form is divided into petal upon petal like a lotus seat, its substance compares to layer upon layer of spiral coiffure. History records twenty-one generations of emperors, and how many streams of immortals and monks have passed. It seems past and present all become illusion, only you alone live long to accompany travelers., a male tree, locally known as the "Old Sacred Tree".
Origin of the nameThis plant was called "yinguo" in ancient Chinese and is now commonly called "baiguo" or "yinxing". The name "baiguo" was borrowed directly into Vietnamese, pronounced "b?ch qu?" according to Sino-Vietnamese readings; the name "yinxing" was borrowed into Korean and Japanese, read respectively as "??" (eunhaeng) and "ぎんなん" (ginnan) according to the Sino-Korean and Sino-Japanese readings of the characters.
The scientific name "Ginkgo" comes from Japanese folk usage. Chinese characters often have multiple readings in Japanese, and "" can also be pronounced "ぎんきょう" (ginkyō). In 1690, German botanist Engelbert Kaempfer became the first Westerner to discover this species. He recorded the pronunciation of the species in his work Amoenitates Exoticae (1712); the "y" he wrote was misread as "g", and this misreading has been used ever since.
In addition, the shape of the ginkgo leaf has also become the symbol of Tokyo, Japan.
Ginkgo pictures