Ginkgo biloba.

Botanical name: 

Ginkgo biloba Linn. Coniferae. Ginko. Maiden-Hair Tree.

China and Japan. The fruit of the ginko is sold in the markets in all Chinese towns and is not unlike dried almonds, only whiter, fuller and more round. The natives seem very fond of it, although it is rarely eaten by Europeans. In Japan, the seeds furnish an oil used for eating and burning. The fruit of the maiden-hair tree is called in China pa-kwo. The Chinese consume the nuts of this tree at weddings, the shells being dyed red; they have a fishy taste. This tree is largely cultivated as an ornamental in Europe, Asia and North America.


Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, 1919, was edited by U. P. Hedrick.