Ginkgo Leaf

November 27, 2015

Ginkgo 111615 blue sky 15in

Photographer: John Stetson
Summary Author: John Stetson

The photo above showing a distinctive fan-shaped ginkgo leaf was taken in Central Park, Manhattan, New York City. Evidently, 10 percent of the trees in Manhattan are ginkgoes. The fossil record shows that the ginkgo tree today looks much the same as it did 270 million years ago. It's essentially a living fossil. Originally native to China they're now widely distributed throughout the mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. One of the interesting characteristics of the ginkgo can be seen in its leaves; veins radiate outward but do not branch similarly to maples, for instance. Branching in tree leaves is called anastomosis. Ginkgoes can grow up to about 100 ft (30.5 m) tall, and some specimens have lived over 1,000 years. Photo taken on November 16, 2015.

Photo Details: Camera Maker: Apple; Camera Model: iPhone 6 Plus; Focal Length: 4.2mm (35mm equivalent: 29mm); Aperture: ƒ/2.2; Exposure Time: 0.0002 s (1/4405); ISO equiv: 32; Software: Adobe Photoshop CS4 Macintosh.