This tree is at the entrance to the pedestrian bridge over 21st Ave. S. If you are taking the Peabody tree tour, this is the last tree on the tour. From here you can either continue on to begin the Main Campus tree tour
by walking onto the pedestrian bridge, or you can cross Edgehill Avenue and travel north along 21st Ave. S. until you reach the Wesley Place parking garage (the starting point of the tour). From that point you can go to the first tree of the Peabody tree tour
if you want.
Although ginkgo is not native to Tennessee, it is a unique and distinctive tree. It is unusual because it is a gymnosperm with broad deciduous leaves
. (Most gymnosperms have evergreen needles). The fan shaped leaves are unmistakable with their repeatedly dividing veins. They are often notched at the tip. From a distance, the leaves make the branches look like large pipe cleaners. The bark
of large trees is also distinctive with deep furrows and ridges.
Ginkgo is dioecious and the tree in front of you is a male. Most of the year, both sexes look the same. However, in the spring, the male produces cones
that look different from the receptive female cones
(which eventually develop into the fruit-like mature female cones
). These mature cones stink and for that reason, most female trees are cut down as soon as they are old enough for the owner to discover their sex.
Ginkgos were thought to be extinct until they were discovered growing in China in the last century. They are now widely planted in cities and towns.