Travel

Magical 1,400-Year-Old Ginkgo Tree Sheds A Spectacular Sea Of Golden Leaves

This impressive Ginkgo Tree sits nestled between the walls of the Gu Guanyin Buddhist Temple in the Zhongnan Mountains in China.

Every autumn, this 1,400-year-old-tree converts its green leaves into vibrant, bright yellow ones leaving a blanket of the golden heap on the temple’s grounds attracting drawing tourists from nearby surrounding areas. Sadly, this tree is only one of a few left.

According to Kew Gardens in London, “Ginkgo fossils are common in the rocks of the Jurassic and Cretaceous, but today Ginkgo biloba is the only member of its genus, which is the only genus in its family, which is the only family in its order, which is the only order in its subclass.”

Ginkgo Biloba

“This fascinating species grew in the gardens of temples in the East and the first seeds were brought to Europe in the 1700s. The decline of Ginkgo biloba in the wild (it is native only to China) is likely to have been a result of deforestation.”

It is the only survivor of an ancient group of trees older than the dinosaurs

Common name: Maidenhair Tree

Photo Credits: Yicai.com – h/t Colossal

Share via
Send this to a friend