Subject: Re: gingko's ingredients?

From: [email-masked] (John B. Melby)
Date: Fri, 19 Apr 1996 01:25:29 GMT

>when I took a landscape class my professor 
>brought in a Ginko blossom......to simply describe the aroma as rancid 
>doesn't do it...Its a mix between rotting flesh and vomit....probably one 
>of the worst smelling plants in the world....

The outer part of the ginkgo fruit smells that way because of the bacteria
that break it down.  Of course, you have to be very careful when harvesting
ginkgo nuts, since the outer part also contains urushiol-related chemical
substances that can cause extremely nasty rashes.

>to attract pollinators the ginko gave off this rancid odor, and 
>flesh eating insects and birds would pollinate it....

Being a gymnosperm, the ginkgo tree doesn't have blossoms...I think
it's completely wind-pollinated.