A squirrel in a sea of  slugs — this tree is truly one of a kind on campus and beyond. While it may not catch your eye, the Ginkgo tree is one of the most unique living organisms. Its ancestors lived with and survived longer than dinosaurs, but today the Ginkgo Biloba is the only survivor of its phylum. In the words of Biology Professor Chad Tillberg, “for comparison, imagine everything with a backbone went extinct — all the fish, and sharks, and reptiles, amphibians, mammals — except one single species of, say, squirrel. Think how distinct that lone squirrel species would be from all the other major animal groups left, like spiders and insects, worms, slugs and snails, sea stars, jellyfish, etc. That’s how distinct Ginkgo Biloba is.”

Location: Right outside Renshaw Hall

DBH: 24.25cm

Height: 11.3m 

Green Weight: 383.42 kg

Dry Weight: 191.71 kg

Carbon Content: 95.86 kg

The Ginkgo Biloba tree came to the United States from eastern China in 1764. One of the Ginkgos most distinct features is their leaf shape — two lobes creating a fan shape — uniquely different from other shapes of leaves —. Another surprising feature is the scent of this tree’s female fruit, which many compare it to cat urine.