The Ginkgo tree

I love ginkgo trees in the fall, especially mature trees such as this one. Wikipedia has good info on this prehistoric tree (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo_biloba); perhaps not everyone is aware of it's status as "a living fossil". The trees have the appealing habit of dropping all of their leaves at once in the fall, so you only have to rake them up one time. Their primary drawback: the fruit smells rotten or, more accurately, like feces, when they ripen and fall to the ground. Though only male trees should be planted, occasionally you will find a female tree in the landscape. At a recent farmer's market excursion, I finally determined what I thought was a "dog walk area" was really the location of a female ginkgo tree! The fruit look very similar to the native persimmon, and I cautioned several people from picking the fruit off the ground, apparently their noses lagging somewhat behind what their brains were telling them to do.