Environment Brooklyn Boro

What’s that smell? Stinky ginkgo trees bring their scent to Brooklyn

Why does the city choose to plant the smelly trees along curbs?

November 8, 2019 Alex Williamson
Ginkgo trees line Union Street in Carroll Gardens. Eagle photo by Alex Williamson
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Few smells signal the arrival of fall in the city like the pukey odor of the ginkgo biloba tree. Each year, ginkgos shower the sidewalks with their pungent seed pods, creating an obstacle course for anyone trying to pass beneath the branches without squishing a stink bomb under their shoe.

But why does the city plant ginkgos along curbs, where the foul-smelling fruit lands on the sidewalks? Because the ginkgo is “a great street tree,” according to Anessa Hodgson, a spokesperson for the city’s Parks Department. It’s sturdy enough to withstand all the pollution, disease, insects, pet waste, soil compaction, road salt, wind and piled up snow that city life can hurl at it, while many species aren’t.

The ginkgo is known for its fan-like leaves, which have been found in the fossil record dating back over 270 million years. Dried ginkgo leaves have been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine to ease lung ailments and improve circulation. For anyone brave enough to scrape away the pod’s smelly flesh, the seeds within are edible when cooked and, reportedly, pretty tasty.

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The ginkgo earned its reputation for hardiness in early 19th century London, where coal pollution was killing off trees in droves. The ginkgos imported from Asia and replanted in the city’s botanical gardens seemed unphased by the smog, however, and arborists took note. Today, the resilient ginkgo is planted in cities around the world.

Despite the stench, the Parks Department continues to plant ginkgos because the trees are tough enough to survive life in the city. Eagle photo by Alex Williamson

A Tree Census conducted by NYC Parks in 2015 found that the ginkgo ranks among the top 10 most common trees in Brooklyn, where the species makes up just over 3 percent of all mapped trees. In Manhattan, more than 9 percent of all trees are ginkgos.

Since only female ginkgos bear the smelly fruit, planting exclusively males seems like an obvious choice. That has been the plan for decades, according to Hodgson, but the female trees still aren’t going anywhere.

“We stopped planting female ginkgos in the 1990s because of their smell. However, there are still a few female ginkgos growing in NYC from before that policy took effect, as we do not remove healthy trees,” she said.

Even gender control isn’t a perfect solution, because the ginkgo can be a sex switcher. Although ginkgos are “born” either male or female (unlike some other tree species), individual branches have been known to change sexes in rare instances when there is a male-female imbalance. In other words: life, uh, finds a way.

Brooklyn’s ginkgos receive occasional backlash from residents who’d rather see female trees chopped down than deal with the stench.

According to Hodgson, the lady trees are unfairly maligned.

“Despite their smell, female ginkgos contribute just as much to absorbing CO2, soaking up stormwater, providing shade in the hot summer and good color in the fall,” Hodgson said.

The Tree Census found that New York City’s ginkgos remove more than 24,000 pounds of air pollutants, intercept more than 16 million gallons of stormwater and absorb nearly 6,500 tons of carbon dioxide each year.


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3 Comments

  1. Andrew Porter

    “Stinky Ginkgo” is the word. In Brooklyn Heights, there are a bunch at the foot of Remsen Street next to the BQE, and another bunch at the corner of Hicks and Pierrepont. What we really need are a bunch of people to come from Chinatown and harvest these things!

    November 8, 2019 at 1:42 pm
    Reply
    • Brian

      I am a ginko fan myself one of my favorite trees . after reading the article ..there wasn’t once mentioned about any clean up crew …why not ? Why wait till its a stinken mess ? Sweep up as the fruit berries drop …hire people who don’t have jobs …maybe homeless? Isn’t this ever considered ? Is there not city employees in Brooklyn ? I guess my point being made …is ..i think its ridiculous that the berries are left to drop and just lay there on the ground so the good folks of Brooklyn have somthing to cry about !

      November 9, 2019 at 12:27 pm
      Reply
    • Brian

      I am a ginko fan myself one of my favorite trees . after reading the article ..there wasn’t once mentioned about any clean up crew …why not ? Why wait till its a stinken mess ? Sweep up as the fruit berries drop …hire people who don’t have jobs …maybe homeless? Isn’t this ever considered ? Is there not city employees in Brooklyn ? I guess my point being made …is ..i think its ridiculous that the berries are left to drop and just lay there on the ground so the good folks of Brooklyn have somthing to cry about !

      November 9, 2019 at 12:27 pm
      Reply