40 CityTREES
M
any of the ginkgoes in Washington Square
Park are female. The species is dioecious,
meaning that female and male reproductive struc-
tures are born on separate plants. However, Crane
points out that there are "leaky males"—male
trees that bear seed. Ginkgo biloba produce naked
seeds that are covered by an apricot-colored,
fleshy seed coat known as sarcotesta. When this
seed coat is mature and then crushed, it releases
an odor that some people find very objection-
able (stinky)! So much so, that since 2004, the NYC
Parks Department only plants male cultivars.
A more pleasant way to interact with mature ginkgo
seed is to eat them! After many years of knowing
that the seed is edible and watching people harvest
it in Washington Square Park, I finally foraged in
fall 2019 with a couple of tips from other foragers
on the scene. I used a plastic bag to pick up the
seeds and collected seeds that had less sarcotesta
on them. I washed the seeds at home to remove
all the flesh then cooked them in olive oil and salt
until the shells cracked. After the shells cooled,
I cracked them fully open to expose the pista-
chio-green colored "nut." In a word—delicious!
Maturing ginkgo seeds on a tree in
Washington Square Park.
Harvesting fallen seeds in Washington Square Park.
Ginkgo seeds with and without
the soft sarcotesta coating.
Newly fallen ginkgo seeds.
Cooked ginkgo seeds in
the author's kitchen.
