The largest Hairy Maiden in Christchurch.
Check out the giant Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba) at 167 Wairakei Road, which used to be owned by the Church Missionary Society. This is the largest of its kind in Christchurch and its lineage dates back 150 million years to the late Mesozoic period.
All Ginkgo are considered to be living fossils. These trees have been cultivated for centuries in the temple gardens of China and Japan and are now widely used as ornamental trees in most temperate regions of the world.
The Ginkgo tree is a good tree for planting in polluted city atmospheres where it has proved particularly tolerant. The fruit (actually a seed) of the female Ginkgo has a horrible smell when ripe, but some people consider the kernel of the nut a delicacy. Ginkgo trees are deciduous, their leaves turning bright yellow before falling in autumn.
Vital statistics:
Height: 14 metres
Crown width: 17 metres
Trunk diameter: 107 centimetres
