A single Ginkgo biloba tree might drop its distinct fan-shaped leaves every year for centuries, if not millennia. For perspective, one that’s about 1,300 years old — nearing the upper limits of documented ginkgo lifespan — first sprouted when the Byzantine empire was still young.
And as ginkgo age, they don’t just survive — they thrive. Though 600-year-old ginkgos grow thinner annual rings, they're likely to pump out just as much defensive and immune-supporting chemicals as their younger relatives, according to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
From this data, it appears that Ginkgo biloba, native to China, don’t have a predetermined lifespan. Unlike annuals that die off every year, “there’s no end point in their ability to keep growing," says Rick Dixon, a biochemist at the University of North Texas and co-author of the paper.
Not only do individual ginkgos grow old, the ...
