Vocabulary

composite – складений, складний

genus – рід

attain - досягати

differential – відмітний, характерний

edible – їстівний, придатний для їжі

crude – сирий, нестиглий

residues – залишок

poultry – свійська птиця

Comprehension check

Answer the following questions:

1. What does the sunflower look like?

2. Why does its stem bend towards the sun?

3. What are the plants cultivated for?

Radiant charm of the ginkgo

There is something different about a ginkgo tree. Its name sounds like a door bell, and its curious, fan-shaped leaves set it apart from all other trees. In autumn it turns golden yellow; not orange or red but a radiant, generous, clear yellow. It shines as elms used to shine.

Ginkgo biloba has a singular history. It is the sole species and survivor of a family of trees which 190 million years ago was present worldwide, even in Britain. Today it only grows wild in a small mountainous area of southeast China. Ginkgo only came to the attention of the West in 1690s, since when it has once more spread throughout the world as an ornamental plant.

The tree has long played a role in Chinese medicine, and today it is taking its place in Western and especially herbal medicine, aiding conditions such as poor circulation and memory loss. In Asia the nuts are sold for culinary purposes and command a good price.

The ginkgo trees have a number of unusual forms of oak, beech and horsechestnut, too. They are not fast-growing trees and sometimes can be frustratingly slow.

There is a stumbling block with ginkgos, however. The fruits, known in some parts of China as ‘silver apricots’, hang down on long stalks, and while the seed itself may be an oriental delicacy, the soft, fleshy case around it is another matter. Some describe this as ‘malodorous’, others as smelling ‘offensive’.

So, for all its value as a street tree, fruiting females can be a severe embarrassment when dropping their largesse underfoot.

Ginkgos are quite capable of surviving extreme cold, but they do like great summer heat, too, if the maximum growth is to be achieved. A good year in southern Britain will produce 18 inches, but it is often much less, especially in the north. In old age and the right climate the ginkgo is a big tree. In Britain it takes hundreds of years to become more than medium sized.

In China and Japan there are trees in the region of 1,000 years old, and in extreme old age they begin to do a very odd thing indeed. The lower parts of the tree produce burrs from the trunk and the branches, and these develop downwards, rather like stalactities or the aerial roots on a tropical climber, until they reach the ground and root again.

As the tree tends to an upright form naturally, it has been used extensively in the United States as a street tree. For this purpose several upright male selections have been named, including ‘Autumn Gold’, ‘Fairmount’, ‘Fastigiata’, ‘Lakeview’, ‘Mayfield’, ‘Princeton’, ‘Saratoga’ and ‘Tremonia’.

Oddest of all is that the ginkgo, with its flat, fan-shaped leaves and plum-like fruits, is botanically nearer to the conifers than it is to broad-leaved trees.