Ginkgo biloba

GINKGO substantive (Japanese name). Botany – genus of coniferous trees in the family Taxaceae⁽¹⁾, close to yews and including large trees with taproot, straight stem, covered with a grayish bark. Ginkgo biloba (salisburia adiantifolia), a large tree from China and Japan can reach enormous proportions; Bunge spoke of one of these trees as having a circumference of 13 meters. A specimen that is the botanical garden of Pisa is 25 meters high. It is assumed that the Dutch have brought it from Japan to Europe. The wood of Ginkgo biloba is of a yellowish color, and it is used as firewood. The Chinese grow this tree because of its edible although insipid nuts; this fruit is believed to have medicinal properties and it is considered as a must-have dish, roasted or boiled, for every feast.
 
Extract from the Trousset encyclopedia, 1886 – 1891.
 
1) Today this tree is classified in the family Ginkgoaceae, of which it is the only extant species.