09 December 2009

Drunken Drowning Butterfly Leaves


King St., Charleston, S.C.

I like saying Gingko Biloba. Gingko Biloba. Gingko Biloba. You could name a child Gingko Biloba.

I walked past this golden beauty in front of the Library Society Building on lower King St. in the dark this evening and remembered I had this picture taken at the same time of year last December. It was taken in daylight so will have to do.

The Gingko Biloba family of trees are so old they are assumed to have been around for 230 million years ago. Darwin called them 'living fossils'. The trees are so hardy that one of them lived through the atomic blast that destroyed Hiroshima.

Ginkgo biloba - The maidenhair tree
With their neat parachute shape, the leaves tend not to fall in a tidy heap, but to catch on branches of surrounding bushes. The actual material of the leaf is still quite resilient when fallen, and if they land on still water do not lie flat, resembling not so much a dead leaf as a drunken drowning butterfly, or miniature capsizing yacht.

It may look like fall but it still feels like summer. I am just back from a late walk and need another shower before bed. Don't stay up too late kids.

9 comments:

yogesa said...

aMAZING pICTURE...
wONDERFUL bLOG...
tHOUGHTFUL pOSTS...


and an AMAZING pROFILE.... :-)

hAVE A nICE dAY !

Julia said...

I love that tree - one of the few in Charleston that has leaves that turn colors! We used to read the children's books at the Library Society while our mother researched, and as a special bonus go tromping through the leaves afterwards. Fun memories!

Unseen Rajasthan said...

Beautiful Colors !! Real Nice shot !!Unseen Rajasthan

Lowell said...

Excellent post. The photo is beautiful and I appreciate the info about the Ginko Biloba tree - never knew any of that!

JanetLee said...

I've heard worse names for kids. ;)~

Doug said...

Some days I feel like I've been around for 230 million years ;-)

Pixel Peeper said...

You could name a kid "Seven."

Interesting stuff about the ginko tree - I did not know that. I looked on the Arbor Day website and found out that the tree won't grow in my zone. :-(

You have no idea how much you contribute to the education of your blog readers!

Charlestonjoan said...

Thanks folks. They are striking trees aren't they. I've been given a tip on another great one to track down on lower Meeting St. Janet-why not suggest it as a name to a new mom? Might fly :) Julia - what nice memories you have of growing up in Charleston. I hope my kids do. Later folks! Busy days....

Frank said...

It's so interesting and exotic sounding but it's too bad that the marketeers got hold of it and made it into a "product."

A name? "Gingko Biloba Perry" has A nice ring to it...a Pekingese maybe or Shih Tzu?