The ginkgo tree is an attractive ornamental tree in the garden, not least because of its specially shaped leaves, the flowers are hardly responsible for this. In terms of colour, they are not very noticeable, more interesting is the fact that there are pure and male trees.
The male flowers grow like catkins
You certainly won't notice the difference in a young ginkgo because the leaves look the same. Only during sexual maturity do the differently shaped flowers appear. Mirabelle-like fruits later only develop from the female flowers. However, their seed coat does not smell very pleasant when ripe. The scent is reminiscent of rancid butter, because the peel contains butyric acid, among other things.
How do male and female flowers differ?
The male flowers grow as so-called catkins. These are about two to three centimeters long and usually appear before the leaves in March. Ginkgo is pollinated by the wind. After flowering, the catkins fall off.
The female flowers usually sit in pairs on small, one to one and a half centimeter long stalks. As a rule, however, only one fruit ripens there. The fruits look similar to mirabelle plums, but botanically they belong to the nuts.
The essentials in brief:
- Flower color yellowish-green
- male flowers: catkin-shaped, about 2 to 3 cm long
- female flowers: a few millimeters in size, usually in pairs on small stalks, later develop unpleasant-smelling fruits
- grow on leaf axils
- Flowering time: from March to April or May
- wind pollinator
tips
Since the mature seed coats of the female trees smell quite unpleasant (like butyric acid), you should not plant them exactly where you like to be during the ripening period.