Ginkgo biloba
Ginkgo biloba
Safety & Hazards
The seed contains a mildly acrimonious principle that is unstable when heated. It is therefore best to cook the seed before eating it to ensure any possible toxicity is destroyed. This acrimonious principle is probably 4'-methoxypyridoxine, which can destroy vitamin B6[ 237 Title Ginkgo. Elixir of Youth. Publication Author Hobbs. C. Publisher Botanica Press, California. Year 1994 ISBN 0-9618470-3-4 Description Looks in detail at the medicinal virtues and also mentions some of the plants other uses. The information on traditional Chinese use and modern herbal use of the plant is backed up by an extensive bibliography. ]. It is more toxic for children, but the raw nuts would have to be eaten often over a period of time for the negative effects to become apparent[ 237 Title Ginkgo. Elixir of Youth. Publication Author Hobbs. C. Publisher Botanica Press, California. Year 1994 ISBN 0-9618470-3-4 Description Looks in detail at the medicinal virtues and also mentions some of the plants other uses. The information on traditional Chinese use and modern herbal use of the plant is backed up by an extensive bibliography. ]. Contact with the juice of the pulp around the seed can cause minor or short-lasting irritation of the skin. Eating the pulp around the seed can cause irritation of the lips, mouth, and throat, plus stomach pain, nausea, and diarrhoea[ 293 Title Poisonous Plants of North Carolina Publication Author Website http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/poison.htm Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent concise but comprehensive guide to toxic plants that grow in N. Carolina. It lists even those plants that are of very low toxicity, including several well-known food plants such as carrots and potatoes. ].
Botanical Description
Ginkgo biloba is a deciduous tree with a crown that is conical in young trees, becoming broadly ovoid with age. It has a tall, densely branched trunk that can be up to 400cm in diameter, and can grow up to 40 metres tall[ 266 Title Flora of China Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ Publisher Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. Year 1994 ISBN Description An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available. ]. Ginkgo is a popular food and medicinal crop in China, the plants are often cultivated for this purpose and are commonly grown in and around temples. Although widely planted as an ornamental, natural wild populations are apparently confined to a small area on Xitianmu Mt.,in Zhejiang The plant is therefore classified as 'Endangered' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(1998)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].