Yin Xing Ye

Ginkgo biloba L. (Ginkgoaceae) is a long-lived, deciduous, dioecious tree reaching 20-35 m or more, with a straight trunk and an initially pyramidal crown that broadens with age. The grey, deeply furrowed bark covers wood with characteristic short spur shoots. The distinctive fan-shaped leaves 5-10 cm wide have parallel, dichotomously forking veins and are usually bilobed on long shoots; they turn brilliant yellow in autumn before falling. Male trees bear pollen catkins; female trees produce naked ovules that develop into yellow, plum-like seeds with a fleshy, malodorous outer coat. Now extinct in the wild but widely cultivated and possibly persisting in eastern China, Ginkgo is a living relict of an ancient lineage. The leaves (Yin Xing Ye) are used in TCM and standardised in modern Western phytotherapy for circulatory and cognitive support.