Smell has some Cities Ripping out Ginkgo Trees

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The ginkgo tree is renowned for its hardiness — a few even survived an atomic bomb — but it may be undone by another trait — its smell.

The odor reminds some of rotten eggs, others of vomit. It comes from large seed shells dropped by female ginkgo trees. The smell and mess made by the sticky, slimy seeds has communities like Iowa City ripping out their ginkgo trees.

But others such as Washington are replacing the female trees with male trees that don't drop seeds. They say the hardy trees with beautiful leaves draw residents to neighborhoods.

And still others say the smell isn't a big deal. That's the case at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, although spokesman Kevin Myers says the smell results in periodic reports that "something died over here."

Comments

Add A Comment

Name:

Email:

Comment:

Please enter the word from the image into the box below.