Ginkgo seeds

Ginkgo seeds, sans sarcotesta; they still smell a little bit

Ginkgo biloba is another fascinating plant, albeit non-carnivorous. It is known for its status as a “living fossil” and its beautiful fan-shaped leaves, as well as its hardiness (ginkgo trees in Hiroshima survived the atomic bombing!). In my Bay Area hometown, ginkgo trees are extremely popular as street trees, planted by the city for shade. Most of the trees planted around the country are male (ginkgo, like Nepenthes, are dioecious), partially because the sarcotesta, the fleshy orange-yellow layer surrounding the cherry or pistachio-like pit of the fruit, smells like a mixture of rotten meat and excrement. I know of several different locations around the city where there are female trees, and collected a large handful of *ahem* ripe-smelling fruit today.

A three-ridged seed (one of two from the twenty harvested); supposedly these yield male trees

Despite the smell of their fruit, female trees are popular in East Asia for their seeds, which are eaten shelled and roasted or boiled (they make a good soup or congee topping). These seeds will be sprouted instead of eaten, seeing as Ginkgo biloba is my favorite species of tree. My rough handful yielded exactly 20 seeds, which will need a cold stratification period, much like Sarracenia seeds.

A two-ridged seed supposedly yields a female tree; these are much more common (18/20) per batch

Baking soda will neutralize the smell of the sarcotesta, by the way. Cleaning the seeds is a chore best done outdoors. And with gloves.