Ginkgoes are the most common roadside trees in Japan. They had grown throughout the world until the Jurassic period, but some of them survived just in China. So, the wild species are designated as an endangered species in that they are very rare trees in the world. But as the nuts of ginkgoes were used as medicine in Japan, many ginkgoes originally from China were planted everywhere in the country. The history of ginkgoes in Europe dates back to 1692, when a Dutch medical doctor dispatched in Nagasaki brought ginkgo seeds back to the Netherlands. Since then, they had spread in Europe, but most of them died of virus disease.
Ginkgoes were called GINKYO in Japan in those years, however this medical doctor misspelled the word from GINKYO to GINKGO.
Ginkgo leaves change their color into yellow late in autumn in Japan.
The major streets as well as parks of the big cities in Japan are lined or dotted with bright yellow ginkgoes in autumn.
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