Where do ginkgo biloba come from?

Answer 1

Ginkgo trees historically grew in China, but there are no longer any native stands of ginkgos. They were kept alive for hundreds of years exclusively as a horticultural tree by Buddhist monks, which is how they can be extinct in nature still exist. They have since been discovered and procured by people from elsewhere in the world who have spread the practice of growing these trees. Today, ginkgos are grown ornamentally and commercially (for herbal/medicinal usage) throughout the earth's temperate zone. There are now some small wild stands of ginkgos as a result of escaping captivity, but they are not considered to be naturalized anywhere.

Answer 2

And despite the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (SOED) describing it as a "Japanese tree", it seems that the ginkgo did originate from China. Since it has been cultivated for centuries, there is some dispute whether any original wild trees might still exist somewhere in the mountains of Eastern China. (There may also, incidentally, be some confusion between the discovery by Kaempfer that the ginkgo is not extinct, and the various reports of ginkgoes being found in the wild, none of which seem to have been confirmed.)

Answer 3

Check with your local plant store or order on the internet, one site is: http://www.runabergsfroer.se/asp/Main.asp?gid=10&kat=kryd_2_sv&id=K265

Answer 4

Yes, as long as the ginkgo tree is not on private property. these leaves can be used to make ginkgo tea, so get as many as you want!

Answer 5

On the end of Gingko branches