Dirleton Castle and the Ginkgo tree
20 June, 2013
This weekend, as part of the Year of Natural Scotland, there is a fun event at Dirleton Castle. It is aimed at the family and features various activities and quizzes. Both the Historic Scotland Ranger Service and East Lothian Rangers will be on hand to help visitors learn about the wonderful wildlife of Dirleton. I helped our events team with the initial planning – any excuse to visit one of my favourite sites.
A particular attraction at Dirleton is the rare ginkgo, or maidenhair tree. The ginkgo is thought to be native to China, but was first recorded in the late 17th century by the German botanist Engelbert Kaempfer in Japan. It was introduced to Europe in 1730. One of the oldest trees in Kew garden is a ginkgo, planted about 1762.
What makes the ginkgo so special is that it has remained unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs, some 180-200 million years ago. Although only one species has survived through to today, originally there were many.
The leaf of the ginkgo is different to that of any other tree. It has a distinctive double lobed shape, from which its Latin name Ginkgo biloba is derived. Ginkgos are also dioecious, with means some trees are female and others male.
Particularly tenacious, ginkgos are long-lived, disease resistant and thrive in polluted cities. Some survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, despite being within a couple of kilometres of ground zero.
In China, ginkgo seeds are used in bird’s nest soup, to aid digestion and as a hangover cure. Leaf extract is used to treat circulatory problems, such as tinnitus and Reynaud’s disease or white-finger). You can even find it in some after-shave lotions.