Ginkgo Biloba

Ginkgo biloba enjoys the universal use as a memory enhancer. It comes from the Ginkgoaceae family and is commonly pronounced as maidenhair tree. It has been existing on this mother earth for millennia, that’s documented on the basis of its 270 million years old fossil. Also, Ginkgo biloba is the only existing specie from the division Ginkgophyta as the rest of its relative species are extinct.

Ginkgos are skyscrapers (huge in length and renders wide canopy) that can reach a beautiful height of at most 150 ft. With all those giddy branches, Ginkgo forms an angular crown with a powerful vasculature that runs deep under the ground to fight off the storms and snow. One can identify the older trees by the very first glimpse at its sumptuous crown. The more sumptuous the crown, the older the tree is.

Ginkgo biloba is traditionally used to cater to nervous disorders. It is purported for its famous medicinal benefits as it helps with vertigo, motion sickness, altitude sickness, dementia, memory loss, cerebral vascular insufficiency, cognitive disorders, glaucoma, sexual dysfunction (due to SSRIs), and premenstrual syndrome.

Ginkgo biloba is packed with ginkolides, bilobalides, proanthocyanidin, and various glycosides that support its splendid pharmacological activities.

This near to extinction plant, Ginkgo biloba, is a good addition to any ornamental garden. While growing ginkgo biloba, it is made sure that the female plant is not opted for the growth as its fruit impart puke-like smell, which is quite hard to bear. On the other hand, the male category is low maintenance and does not bear fruits in the first place so they have nothing to do with rotting smell.

The good news tells us that ginkgo biloba can be grown both outdoors and indoors, but for indoor plantation, the pot has to have a good amount of holes to facilitate rapid drainage. Ginkgo seeds are best to plant in spring. The garden bed specimens are good to go for the winters but the containerized ones need shelter so they are taken inside.

Ginkgo seeds begin to sprout within two to three weeks. The plant follows the fashion of slow growth. Ginkgo biloba may take ages to reach the height of 100ft. but all those years are worth the sight. 

Like pine tree, ginkgo biloba is dioecious. The male ginkgo tree holds cone whereas the female tree bears ovules at the termination of the stalk. After the pollination, the ovules get fertilized and form fruits that possess seed and gut-wrenching smell.

The process of pollination and fertilization occurs somewhere in the fall. The fruits drop from the female ginkgo tree for the dispersal of its seeds, usually via animals, to propagate the specie.

Ginkgo leaves are simply picked by hands anytime of the year. The ginkgo fruit needs a bit of monitoring and observation before its harvest. The color of the tree changes and the fruit ripens.

The best judge of the ripening is your nose as the ripened fruit emits a revolting odor that is powerful enough to induce vomit.

The leaves and fruits of ginkgo are highly anticipated solely because of their medicinal perks. The leaves are simply just plucked off of the erratic branches whereas the fruit is twisted and pulled off of the branch with gloved hands.

The ground is also simultaneously checked for any undamaged ripened fruit.

The leaves are used either fresh or dried for medicinal purposes. The ginkgo fruit is soaked in cold water for a few minutes then the nuts are extracted from the fruit. These nuts should be refrigerated immediately after their extraction. They can run for a week if refrigerated properly otherwise they are worthy of being tossed off.

Ginkgo biloba is readily becoming a part of various herbal medicines that are meant for nervous problems. Herbalists are doing their best to make the best out of it while the gardeners are striving to save this specie from not so-distant extinction.

• Tincture - Infuse fresh or dried chopped ginkgo leaves in grain alcohol for 4 to 6 weeks. Strain the liquid and place it in a dark and dry place. 
• Tea - Fresh or dried ginkgo biloba leaves are steeped for 10 minutes to form gingko tea.
• Decoction - Dried leaves of ginkgo biloba are left to simmer for 24 hours in water to yield a highly concentrated decoction.
• Salve - Dried ginkgo biloba leaves are heated with jojoba oil then strained. The infused oil is then stirred in with melted beeswax to form salve to aid memory aid.
• Syrup - Dried or fresh ginkgo biloba leaves are rolled to boil with granulated white sugar and water to yield ginkgo syrup.
• Infused oil - Dried ginkgo biloba leaves are heated with jojoba oil for few minutes and strained to produce ginkgo infused oil.

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