The Wilhelma Ginkgo

Two male ginkgos stand side by side at the Wilhelma's Palmenhaus, and the eastern one is the fourth-largest of its kind in Baden-Württemberg. That ranking comes from the German Dendrological Society's champion-tree list, which also puts it 15th in Germany. In August 2019 Jürgen Blümle measured its trunk at 4.58 metres round at chest height. Its age is an estimate, and the record is honest about how loose it is. It gives about 167 years, planted around 1859, then notes that it may have gone in as early as 1840. Neither date is documented for this tree, so we carry it as somewhere between about 160 and 190 years. If you know when it was planted, tell us. What the record is sure of is its health. When it was measured in 2019 the tree was judged fully vital, its wood undamaged. Being male has a practical upside. Female ginkgos drop fleshy seeds in autumn that smell strongly; this pair does not. What both do is turn, usually in November, the whole crown going butter gold before the leaves come down within a day or two. That is the week to go. Entry to the Wilhelma is paid and runs to opening hours, so check before you set out. Inside, find the Palmenhaus near the main entrance and the two ginkgos beside it, and take the one on the east.