The Herbarium
Part I · Medicinal herbs
Herb. No. 053
Ginkgo
Ginkgo biloba
Ginkgoaceae
The living-fossil tree whose leaf is taken for circulation and memory — slowly, and with bleeding in mind.
Standardized leaf extract is a supplement. Female fruit stinks and is not the medicine.
- Parts used
- Leaf (standardized or dried)
- Traditional notes
- Aging circulation · Mental fog · Cold extremities · Tinnitus folklore
- Grow · USDA 6b
- Tree, USDA 4–8 Buy a named male cultivar if you want no fruit. In work: Jul · Aug · Sep
- Harvest
- Green leaves in late summer before they gold.
- Plant a named male if you do not want stinking fruit.
- A century tree. Give it room and ignore it.
- Pick green leaves in late summer if you dry your own — fruit is not the medicine.
Safety
Before surgery Active bleeding Seizure disorder (rare reports)
Lore
A living fossil with no close relatives, planted as a temple tree in China, then as a street tree that drops foul fruit on sidewalks. The medicinal leaf is a standardized extract story more than a garden tea story.
The Herbarium — a teaching catalog, not a clinic. Traditional use is history, not a prescription. USDA 6b dates are a week either way, not a promise. Do not eat, drink, or harvest a plant you cannot name.