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| Ginkgo biloba
GinkgoAlthough technically this species does not produce fruit because it is a gymnosperm, the female trees produce a naked gametophyte covered with a foul-smelling orange pulp in fall that resembles a fruit. The female gametophyte is yellowish orange, 3/4" in diameter and strongly malodorous, smelling much like that of vomit. The fleshy pulp can make for a new olfactory experience when brought indoors on one's shoes. It can take 20 or more years before trees will begin to fruit. The seeds, called ginkgo nuts, are an Asian delicacy. The genus name means silver apricot in Japanese. |
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