‘Bryson City’ ginkgo is a male, woody, deciduous tree in the Ginkgoaceae (ginkgo) family. It has a columnar habit and can grow 50 to 100 feet tall and 30 to 50 feet wide. It was brought from China and planted in 1941 by Mary Bryson Tipton, a missionary, and the original tree grows in downtown Bryson City, North Carolina. While it tolerates a variety of soil textures and pH, a ginkgo tree needs a site in full sun and good drainage to thrive. Its distinctive fan-shaped leaves turn a bright yellow-gold in the fall. As this cultivar is male, it does not produce the fleshy seeds ("fruits") that are found on female trees. As a male cultivar, it is propagated by grafting. The ginkgo tree is tolerant of drought, heat, pollution, salt, and wind, which makes it a good choice as a street tree in urban settings or a specimen tree in lawns, recreational play areas, and walkways. It is also popular for use in bonsai. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: none. VIDEO Created by Elizabeth Meyer for " Trees, Shrubs and Conifers " a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens. More information on Ginkgo biloba .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
Available space
24-60 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 50 ft. 0 in. - 100 ft. 0 in. | Width: 30 ft. 0 in. - 50 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
1 - Canopy (>40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Columnar; Erect
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf feel
Leathery; Smooth; Soft
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Ginkgos have distinctive two-lobed, somewhat leathery, fan-shaped, rich green leaves with diverging (almost parallel) veins. Leaves turn bright yellow gold in fall. Ginkgo trees are commonly called maidenhair trees in reference to the resemblance of their fan-shaped leaves to maidenhair fern leaflets (pinnae). Ginkgoes have the curious habit, in mid-fall, of dropping all of their leaves virtually at one time, usually following a heavy rainstorm. One autumn day, the bright foliage will be intact on the graceful spire-like tree; then, the next morning, the ground underneath the bare branches will be carpeted with its vivid leaves.
Fall color
Gold/Yellow
Flower color
Cream/Tan; Green; Orange
Flower form
Catkin; Insignificant
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Ginkgos are gymnosperms and do not produce "flowers" however they are dioecious with separate male and female trees. Male plants produce small pollen cones with sporophylls. Female plants produce ovules at the end of a stalk. Fertilization occurs via motile sperm, as in cycads, ferns, mosses, and algae.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit size
< 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
As a gymnosperm, Ginkgo does not produce fruit but has fleshy seeds (on female trees) that are plumlike, yellow-orange, and foul-smelling when ripe. The the inner wall of the seed is hard, smooth, and cream colored. As this cultivar is male, it does not produce seeds.
Bark color
Dark Brown; Dark Gray
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Wildlife value
Ginkgos have no wildlife value. It is over-planted in today’s cities which can decrease wildlife diversity in the urban environment.
Play value
Sound; Wind Shimmer
Food & Medicine
Edible parts
Seeds
Edibility
The seed, freed of the outer pulp and washed, is boiled or roasted and eaten and also available in Asian food stores.
Uses (ethnobotany)
The extract of the ginkgo leaves has been used pharmaceutically as a memory-enhancer and an anti-vertigo treatment.