Larch leaf

The Ginkgo, an Asian tree now found worldwide, including our area, is one of the most easily recognizable of the planet's roughly 100,000 tree species. The key is those beautiful, fan-shaped leaves. Normally a typical green, they response to declines in photoperiod and a sharp cold snap by going quickly to a brilliant yellow then falling, en masse, to form an exquisite carpet under the trees. So it has been since the early days of the dinosaurs, for Ginkgos "have come down to us almost unchanged for two hundred million years" writes Sir Peter Crane, dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, in his 2013 "evolutionary and cultural life story" of the plant: Ginkgo: The Tree that Time Forgot (Yale University Press). The book is a wonderful read about a fascinating tree, and if you're not already a Ginkgo fancier, Sir Peter's account will make you one. I didn't need any prodding. I've long loved Ginkgo biloba, and with the recent cold weather, I guessed that the plants would be in perfect color. Even though I arrived a little past their peak, I wasn't disappointed.