Known as the maiden hair tree and a genera of only one species native of Eastern China and Japan. It is found in fossilized form and hints to its ancestry in its fern like forms. It is only one species but has many forms, i.e., tree shapes such as upright growing, pendulous and yellow foliage.
The Ginkgo is one of the starting points of botany and is commonly placed in context by being referred to as a ‘Living Fossil‘. The plant also has the distinction of being first discovered and named by no less than the Father of Botanical nomenclature – Carl Von Linnaeus (1707-1778) a Swedish national.
Von Linnaeus pioneered the making sense of Biodiversity by using classification as the key to grouping organisations in hierarchal groups. His genius was based on everything getting two names, i.e. the Binomial system. This binomial system is in turn based on the dead language of Latin and continues to be the method used by scientists today when comparing one organisation to another.






from the series 18th Century Plant Collectors by Robert Kean
Scot Plants Direct at Hedgehogs Nursery, Crompton Road, Southfield Industrial Estate, Glenrothes, Fife KY6 2SF