Ginkgo Biloba

Name: translated from Japanese – “silver apricot”, or “silver fruit”. This is the name of the edible fruits of this wonderful relic plant from Western China. “Living fossil” is what Charles Darwin called ginkgo. Indeed, it is difficult to come up with a more precise definition. Ginkgo is one of the few oldest woody plants that still survive on earth.

Use in medicine Ginkgo biloba is the only plant known to science that contains specific substances, gincrolides, which increase the elasticity of the walls of blood vessels in the brain and promote vasodilation. As a result, the brain is better supplied with oxygen and nutrients, and is also quickly freed from toxins. What is especially important in old age, when the blood supply to the brain deteriorates significantly. Ginkgo Biloba reduces the likelihood of heart attacks and heart attacks, lowers cholesterol levels. And certainly the most harmless antioxidant. Contains flavoglycosides, proanthocyanidins, which protect the walls of blood vessels from damage by free radicals. They improve blood circulation, which has a beneficial effect on all organs of the body, including the brain. Activates mental activity.

 

Indications:prophylactic restorative agent, prevention of atherosclerosis, prevention of cerebrovascular accidents, impaired hearing and vision, migraine, memory impairment, cerebral atherosclerosis, neurodystrophic diseases – Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, dystonic cerebral venous disorders and dyscirculatory encephalopathy, sexual function disorders, diseases of the venous system, Raynaud’s syndrome, obliterating endarteritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, bronchial asthma, diabetes mellitus. ACTION: -increases the elasticity and strength of the walls of blood vessels, capillary walls, preventing their fragility; -has a vasodilating effect; – improves blood circulation in case of functional disorders of the blood vessels of the brain, increases cerebral blood flow in the arterial, capillary and venous bed; -reduces the level of cholesterol in the blood; – has an antihypoxic effect on tissues, increases the consumption of oxygen and glucose by the brain; – interferes with lipid peroxidation, binds free radicals; – has a pronounced anti-edematous effect of brain tissues, as well as peripheral tissues. The antioxidant effect is expressed not only in the destruction of existing free radicals, but also in the inactivation of their formation and inhibition of the formation of peroxide compounds from membrane lipids. Due to the ability to inactivate free radicals, ginkgo has a stimulating effect on the biosynthesis of prostanoids – substances that can expand blood vessels, and thus participate in the prevention of high blood pressure. Regular action makes ginkgo a truly unique remedy, able to deal with circulatory disorders resulting from vasospasm, and with the same success restoring blood flow in areas with vasomotor paralysis. The use of ginkgo extract leads to a simultaneous increase in blood flow in the peripheral and cerebral vessels. This is especially important, because helps to avoid complications associated with the use of traditional antihypertensive products: stagnation of blood in the peripheral vessels. The main action of ginkgo biloba is to increase blood flow to areas that are more or less deficient in it, including the brain, lower limbs, all arteries, veins and even the smallest capillaries. This is especially important for us, since almost any cell in the body stops working normally if the blood supply is insufficient. Recommended: – for cardiovascular diseases; – with cerebrovascular insufficiency; – with multiple sclerosis; – at the initial stage of Alzheimer’s disease; – with age-related mental disorders; – with poor blood supply to the limbs; – with varicose veins; – with thrombophlebitis; – with chronic bronchitis, asthma; – to eliminate the consequences of a stroke; – with vascular diseases of the ear, hearing loss: – with dizziness; – with migraine; – with hemorrhoids; – with impotence; – with diabetes; – with chilliness of the fingers and toes. Ginkgo tincture is a powerful stimulant of mental potential, attention and memory. – to eliminate the consequences of a stroke; – with vascular diseases of the ear, hearing loss: – with dizziness; – with migraine; – with hemorrhoids; – with impotence; – with diabetes; – with chilliness of the fingers and toes. Ginkgo tincture is a powerful stimulant of mental potential, attention and memory. – to eliminate the consequences of a stroke; – with vascular diseases of the ear, hearing loss: – with dizziness; – with migraine; – with hemorrhoids; – with impotence; – with diabetes; – with chilliness of the fingers and toes. Ginkgo tincture is a powerful stimulant of mental potential, attention and memory.

You can make your own ginkgo leaf tincture at home. Dry leaves are poured with 40% alcohol or vodka (1:10). Insist 2 weeks in a dark place, filter. USE: 10-15 drops of ginkgo tincture in half a glass of water 2 times daily before meals. The course of treatment is 1 month. It is recommended to conduct 3 courses per year. With regular intake of the product, its beneficial effect is preserved. CONTRAINDICATIONS: Not recommended for individual intolerance to the components of the product, pregnant and lactating women.

 

From history: Gingko has been known in culture since the 11th century. In China and Japan, it was planted near sacred temples. Now in the Land of the Rising Sun, ginkgo is used as fruit trees. By the way, the name of the plant in Japanese means “silver apricot”. There is a tree in Nagasaki that is over 1200 years old. In China, under natural growing conditions, a 45 m high gingko was found. It is believed that it is approaching the 2000-year mark. Legends tell that in very ancient times in northern China, ginkgo seeds were taken as tribute.

European scientists discovered a living gingko tree in 1690 (previously they had only seen plant prints on stones). For the first time, gingko appeared in the botanical garden of Utrecht (Holland), but the exact date of this event has not been established. In 1754 it came to England. A tree has been preserved there to this day, with the help of which the features of ginkgo fertilization were discovered and studied. The British call gingko “girl’s hair tree”. Its leaves remind them of the leaves of one of the most elegant ferns, known as “venus hair” (maidenhair). The French dubbed the ginkgo “the forty-ecu tree”. It received such a strange name in 1780 from the Parisian amateur botanist Petigny. Tom managed to buy from one of the English gardeners a pot with five small ginkgo trees for 25 guineas, i.e. 40 ecu each. These trees became the progenitors of almost all gingkos now growing in France.

The peculiar shape of gingko leaves seemed to the poet a symbol of friendship.

Prehistoric ginkgo, the ancestors of modern plants, existed on earth before the formation of the Rocky Mountains, but living plants of ginkgo biloba did not reach America until 1784. The oldest specimen is growing there now at the Forest Cemetery in Philadelphia. This veteran tree has been taken under protection and is being monitored by experts.

Today, ginkgo can be found in the parks of Western Europe and on the streets of cities in North America. In culture, it feels quite good, although it has never been found in the wild in these places (not counting, of course, the Mesozoic era).

Description: This is one of the most primitive gymnosperms of the modern plant world, representing both the genus and the family in the singular.

Ginkgo biloba -G. biloba L.

According to experts, ginkgo is a relic of Japanese-Chinese origin. It is believed that its homeland is the mountain forests of Northeast China. It grows there in a warm and humid climate. Once upon a time there were so many trees that the oldest of them were cut down for firewood. At present, there is no naturally formed ginkgo grove in China on Mount Memusha. The diameter of the trunks of trees growing there reaches 1.5-2 m.

Deciduous, dioecious tree, reaching 30-45 m in height, with a slender brown-gray trunk. The crown of young plants is broadly pyramidal, with a whorled arrangement of the main branches extending from the trunk at almost a right angle; with age, its top becomes dull and the crown expands. As a rule, male plants are more slender, with a pyramidal crown, female plants are wider and more rounded. None of the modern gymnosperms has such decorative leaves as ginkgo. They are fan-shaped, often dissected into two deep lobes (this is reflected in the species name), leathery, naked, slightly corrugated along the edge, bluish-green, with long petioles. Leaves are arranged singly or in bunches on shortened shoots. In autumn, they turn into beautiful golden-yellow tones, giving the tree an unforgettable look. Flowers in small green-yellow inflorescences. The seed is covered with a fleshy cover (like a plum), burning-astringent taste and unpleasant smell.

It is decorative with a light trunk, an original whorled crown, with bluish greens of amazing leaves, very beautiful in autumn colors. In areas favorable for its development, it can be used to create original decorative groups against the background of coniferous, evergreen species, in alley and ordinary plantings, singly on lawns. In culture since 1727.

It has a number of decorative forms:  pyramidal (f. fastigiata) – with a columnar or pyramidal crown; weeping (f. pendula) – with a weeping crown shape; golden (f. aurea) – with a light golden color of the leaves; motley (f. variegata) – leaves with golden stripes.

“Laciniata” . The tree is fast-growing, pin-shaped. The leaves are very large, 20-30 cm wide with numerous notches; the veins are embossed, the edge is curly and cut (- C. biloba macrophylla, Salisburia adiantifolia, Macrophylla laciniata). Originated before 1850 as a seedling at Reinier, Avignon, France.

“St. Cloud” . A tree with a straight trunk, lateral branches not often separated from each other, very long, densely covered along the entire length with small shortened shoots. Albert Kahn Garden, Cloux-sur-Seine near Paris.

Tremonia . The form is straight, columnar, 12 m high and 80 cm wide. Autumn color is beautiful. In 1970 went on sale from the botanical garden of Dortmund. The original tree, around 1930, came from a seedling.

Location: photophilous, wind-resistant, fairly frost-resistant (tolerates temperatures as low as -30°C.). Young plants should be protected from the burning rays of the sun, shading them with shields or a light cloth. Mature plants are best planted in well-lit places. The plant is successfully cultivated in the temperate zone – where the climate is mild enough. In open ground, ginkgo grows in Kaliningrad (regional), Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Astrakhan. It is found in the Baltic States, in Moldova, in the botanical gardens of Central Asia. The plant can be found in the parks of the Crimea (in Yalta since 1818), the Caucasus, Ukraine

Soil: undemanding. For successful growth of ginkgo, constantly moist soil is necessary, but its mechanical composition is not so important.

Care: Parasites and pests in ginkgo are unknown. But mice pose a certain danger – they can gnaw the bark at the base of the trunk of even a 10-year-old tree. From this misfortune, a well-known trick of fruit growers is used – tying the bases of the trunks for the winter with spruce branches, roofing felt or burdock.

Reproduction:no tree reproduces like a ginkgo. The method of reproduction brings it closer to ferns and other spore plants, in which fertilization is carried out with the help of floating male germ cells. In all other trees, male reproductive cells cannot move independently. In this regard, ginkgo is an interesting object for studying plant evolution. Freshly harvested ginkgo seeds have a high germination rate, but it is quickly lost due to the fact that their endosperm contains fatty acids. Weight thousand pcs. seeds is 200 g. After cleaning the seed from the fleshy cover, only 25% of the original weight remains. 10-15 g of seeds are sown per running meter, their embedment depth is 3-5 cm. Seeds are cleaned in salt water. It is better to sow immediately after processing. Seeds obtained from Tashkent and stratified at 5 – 7 ° C for 1.5 months gave friendly seedlings 25 days after sowing. Ground germination 91%.

Ginkgo is a fast-growing tree species, has a strong shoot-forming ability, produces shoots from the stump and root. The tree does not tolerate transplantation well, after that it does not grow for 2-3 years. Gardeners like ginkgo, but females are not suitable for decorative purposes, because during ripening the fruits smell unpleasant, and when they fall, they interfere with pedestrians and vehicles. Usually males are used. In nurseries, a male kidney is grafted onto a young seedling. In the first year, seedlings are 12-15 cm high. Ginkgo is easily propagated by seeds, stem and root cuttings.

Cuttings should be taken in late June – early July, and preference should be given not to long shoots (by that time still poorly lignified), but to short shoots that are cut into cuttings with a “heel” or with part of last year’s wood. Half of the leaves are removed from them and placed in a solution of root formation stimulants for several hours. Then they are planted in a soil film greenhouse, where coarse sand mixed with high-moor peat, perlite or similar loose breathable materials are used as a substrate. The cuttings are regularly sprayed, adding the Epin solution to the sprayer once a week. With a successful outcome, by autumn the plants will give, if not roots, then at least callus. For the winter, the cuttings are covered with spruce branches. In the spring, they start growing quite quickly, and they need to be planted before this moment – in April. Cuttings with only one callus also develop successfully – in the second year, almost all of them give roots. But plants from cuttings develop much more slowly than seed plants, at least in the first 1-3 years.

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