The most "romantic" plant in history is actually this!

Autumn and Winter

The golden ginkgo is unique in its own way

The wind blows

A golden land

Everyone started to share

Share the beautiful photos of the ginkgo tree

Some people even pick up ginkgo leaves to make handicrafts.

Make "Ginkgo Christmas Tree" and "Ginkgo Rose"

The yellow ginkgo leaves are the unique romance of late autumn

Today's article will take you into the world of Ginkgo

01

The world is changing, but life never ends

I can be your slave if you serve me.

Who will pity those who wander in the rivers and lakes?

Her jade-like bones and icy skin refuse to wither.

——Li Qingzhao, "Auspicious Quail and Two Ginkgo Trees"

In the long history of geological changes and changes of the times, the ancient ginkgo tree is a shining pearl. It is tenacious and calm. It has stood for thousands of years, witnessing the development of Chinese civilization.

Ginkgo is native to my country and belongs to the gymnosperms, the genus Ginkgo in the family Ginkgo, a single family, a single genus, and a single species. It is a relic species preserved after the Quaternary glaciation. It has experienced a long evolutionary history since its origin in the late Paleozoic era.

Image source: Shanghai Natural History Museum - Ginkgo fossils

Currently, the recognized reliable Ginkgo fossils can be traced back to the Carboniferous period 280 million years ago. The Ginkgo genus was once extremely prosperous in the Mesozoic Era, and the earliest reliable Ginkgo fossils can be traced back to the Early Jurassic period 180 million years ago.

Image source: The "Yima Ginkgo" fossil is now in the Henan Provincial Geological Museum

After the prosperous period from the Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous, the number of Ginkgo species decreased sharply under the influence of glacial movement from the end of the Tertiary to the beginning of the Quaternary, and all the Ginkgo plants growing in North America, Europe and other places became extinct.

Fortunately, my country was less affected by glacial erosion, which provided a refuge for the species during the Quaternary Ice Age. This also makes China the only country in the world that may have natural ginkgo trees.

Ginkgo has a verifiable history of cultivation in my country that stretches back a thousand years. It was planted in the south of the Yangtze River during the Three Kingdoms period, and was already grown in the Central Plains during the Tang Dynasty. It became even more common during the Song Dynasty. China is the world's largest producer of ginkgo, with more than 90% of the world's ginkgo germplasm resources.

Image source: Shanghai Release - Shanghai Ancient Ginkgo Tree No. 001

How tenacious is the vitality of ginkgo?

In Hiroshima, Japan, there are still a few gingko trees that survived the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima in 1945. In Shengsheng Garden in Linyi, Shandong, there is also the largest ancient ginkgo complex found in China, which was first planted during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. Because of the strong vitality of ginkgo, the garden was named Shengsheng Garden to represent the endless life.

Image source: Sohu

02

Autumn is yellow leaves, fluttering

The mossy steps are not swept all day long,

The autumn wind blows down the whole garden of ginkgo trees.

——Liu Yi, "Presented to Master Guquan"

Have you ever thought about this?

Why do ginkgo leaves turn yellow?

Why did it fall?

Similar to the graying and hair loss of human hair, leaves also undergo a senescence process. Under certain environmental factors, such as low temperatures in autumn and the shortening of daylight hours, the leaves of some plants will undergo senescence under their own regulation, accompanied by a series of physiological and biochemical changes. The most intuitive manifestation is the change in color and the shedding of leaves.

"Aging and losing color" is the fate that leaves have to go through. After the color of the plant leaves changes, they will eventually fall off the plant body, completing its life cycle.

The change of leaf color is related to the change of the type and content of pigments. During the aging process of leaves, some pigments gradually decrease, and some new pigments may be synthesized, so the leaves will change from green to other colors.

Image source: Science Popularization China

Some plants, such as white poplar, have not completely lost their chlorophyll before they fall, so their leaves will appear light green or yellow-green. The reason why the leaves of some plants turn red before they fall is because the leaves synthesize a type of red-purple pigment called anthocyanin. If there is still chlorophyll left in the leaves containing anthocyanin, the leaves will appear brown; if the leaves contain anthocyanin and carotenoids, they will appear orange.

Image source: Pixabay

Plants will eliminate some of their weak organs by shedding leaves, which is a means of self-regulation for plants. Shedding leaves in autumn allows plants to minimize the loss of energy and water in winter.

Before falling off, in addition to chlorophyll, proteins and other substances will also be degraded. These degraded substances are still "very nutritious" and will be reabsorbed by the plant body. Subsequently, some cells at the base of the petiole will undergo cell wall degradation, causing the cells to separate. Under the action of external force, the leaves will fall off.

03

Scientific food, endless aftertaste

The slightly bitter and slightly sweet taste is the best.

Not necessarily a chicken head is like a duck's foot,

Why not use ginkgo as golden peach?

——Yang Wanli's "Eight Poems on Food and Ginkgo" by Uncle Deyuan

Ginkgo is a gymnosperm, which only has seeds and has not yet evolved into angiosperm fruits. However, the seed coat of ginkgo seeds is well developed and looks similar to angiosperm fruits. Therefore, even though we often say "gingkgo nuts" or "gingko nuts", they are not ginkgo fruits, but seeds.

Image source: http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/

Ginkgo nuts are like snail noodles, they smell bad but taste delicious.

Ginkgo fruit is both a food and a Chinese medicinal material. Ginkgo fruit is oval or spherical, with a yellow skin when ripe, and falls off the tree naturally with the autumn wind.

Image source: Chinese Society of Food Science and Technology

Dried ginkgo kernels contain about 60%-70% starch, 13% protein and 3% fat, as well as trace nutrients such as sterols, vitamins, riboflavin, trace elements and inorganic salts. In addition, ginkgo contains ginkgolide and ginkgo flavonoids, the unique active ingredients of ginkgo, and proper consumption is beneficial to improving cardiovascular and cerebrovascular functions.

At the same time, I believe everyone has heard that "gingko is poisonous". The culprit of ginkgo's toxicity is 4'-methoxypyridoxine, which has the effect of inhibiting the synthesis of nerve cell information transmitter (4-aminobutyric acid), causing vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions and other symptoms. Especially for young children, excessive consumption of ginkgo can easily cause danger.

So, how to eat ginkgo nuts scientifically?

First, remove the toxic parts. For shelled ginkgo nuts purchased from the market, peel off the hard shell first, boil them in water for 10 minutes to remove the membrane, and remove the embryo before cooking. If you pick up ginkgo nuts, wear gloves when peeling off the outer skin, as the ginkgolic acid content in the fleshy outer skin of the ginkgo fruit is high and can corrode the skin.

Secondly, remember that ginkgo nuts cannot be eaten raw. High-temperature cooking methods are required to remove most of the toxic components in ginkgo nuts, reduce allergenicity, and ensure food safety. Different cooking methods require full preparation and heating to eliminate or reduce the toxicity of ginkgo nuts.

Image source: Chinese Society of Food Science and Technology

Ginkgo leaves yellow

It also means that 2022 is coming to an end

Life is just a few autumns

After reading the article, you may want to find a weekend

With someone you like

Find a place to appreciate ginkgo

END

Source: Chinese Society of Food Science and Technology

Science Popularization China, Shanghai Natural History Museum

Compiled by: Dong Xiaoxian

Editor: Guru