Ebook Ginkgo The Tree That Time Forgot Peter Crane Pollyanna von Knorring 9780300213829 Books
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Perhaps the world’s most distinctive tree, ginkgo has remained stubbornly unchanged for more than two hundred million years. A living link to the age of dinosaurs, it survived the great ice ages as a relic in China, but it earned its reprieve when people first found it useful about a thousand years ago. Today ginkgo is beloved for the elegance of its leaves, prized for its edible nuts, and revered for its longevity. This engaging book tells the rich and engaging story of a tree that people saved from extinction—a story that offers hope for other botanical biographies that are still being written.
Inspired by the historic ginkgo that has thrived in London’s Kew Gardens since the 1760s, renowned botanist Peter Crane explores the history of the ginkgo from its mysterious origin through its proliferation, drastic decline, and ultimate resurgence. Crane also highlights the cultural and social significance of the ginkgo its medicinal and nutritional uses, its power as a source of artistic and religious inspiration, and its importance as one of the world’s most popular street trees. Readers of this book will be drawn to the nearest ginkgo, where they can experience firsthand the timeless beauty of the oldest tree on Earth.
Ebook Ginkgo The Tree That Time Forgot Peter Crane Pollyanna von Knorring 9780300213829 Books
"I was surprised how much I liked "Ginko..."; it's title sucked me in even though, I've no background in gardening or botany but it made we wish I had stayed awake during botany class, back in 1954. I'm planning to start a ginko bonsai project soon; wish me luck."
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Ginkgo The Tree That Time Forgot Peter Crane Pollyanna von Knorring 9780300213829 Books Reviews :
Ginkgo The Tree That Time Forgot Peter Crane Pollyanna von Knorring 9780300213829 Books Reviews
- No one cannot tell ginkgoes for their unique leaves with conical shape. Ginkgoes stand throughout Japan, in the precincts of temples and shrines, in the schoolyards and in the streets. Many ginkgo trees have their own legends together with our various reminiscence. We admire their yellow color in Autumn. Ginkgo nuts is popular as a classy side dish for sake, is necessaries for Japanese hors d’ oeuvre, chawan-mushi. It becomes a symbol of Tokyo, a university. The tree puts down its roots into our lives. Peter Crane talks about “Ginkgo†from various phases of our relation with them, from a point of botany, archaeology, paleontology and comparative culture. The way he tells a story is full of deep respects to his predecessors.
According to his accounts ginkgoes have been ever present for 200 million years or more. Once widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere, they almost disappeared as the climate changed to cool and dry. Extinction of mediating animals might cause bad impact on their survival. Where caught my eyes is ginkgoes were discovered in Japan through trading at Deshima in the late seventeenth century, and were brought into cultivation in Europe and then in America. Ginkgoes were survived in China and evidently spread to Korea and Japan. Crane’s knowledge is wide and profound, he searches the origin of word “Ginkgo†in the chapter titled Naming. He explains the word originated in Japanese “Ginkyo.†People longs for it’s longevity. While the seeds have been widely used in the East, extracts from leaves have got attention almost exclusively in the West. Ginkgo leaf extracts are said to be among the leading prescription medicines in both Germany and France. It is used for symptomatic treatment of deficits in memory, concentration, and certain kinds of depression.
There is a long dispute about the subsistence of zoos and aquariums. The explanation of Wollemi pine makes me think twice about the preservation of species. The timescales of ginkgo’s life story, as he says, make us pose to consider the current climate change. Following to the modern-day mantra of more, better, faster unthinkingly will only lead us to catastrophe. The book gives us good opportunity to reflect more often and think more carefully about what we lost because of our short-sighted decision. - Peter Crane's book explains the fascinating history of the ginkgo tree, from evolutionary prehistory to today. But the author uses the ginkgo story as a focus point to explain all aspects of evolution and conservation the book is not just about ginkgoes. This book helped me understand the crucial role that botanical gardens and arboreta can play in saving a tree species from extinction. It worked with ginkgoes, dawn redwoods, Wollemi pines, and Franklinia bushes. It can work with other woody species as well, including a rare species of shrub that I work with. You can tell from the book that Peter Crane really loves ginkgoes, and when an author loves something, the readers will too.
- It provides information on why this tree still survives. It is not all biology, but includes different societies view of the tree and the function it serves in urban environments.
- I was surprised how much I liked "Ginko..."; it's title sucked me in even though, I've no background in gardening or botany but it made we wish I had stayed awake during botany class, back in 1954. I'm planning to start a ginko bonsai project soon; wish me luck.
- The mind's pictures built from Crane's excellent writing obviates the need for any glossy photos. The depth and breadth of information new to me on such a well known tree is surprising. Plant a female and enjoy ginnan, the toasted seeds of the tree, some years hence.
- BOOK REVIEW
Peter Crane has fortunately organized his book into chapters so that the reader can choose only the sections of interest, instead of plowing through this long book. There is information for the person who has a female ginkgo in his backyard, the city dweller who admires the male ginkgos lining her street, the elder worried about losing his memory who is considering taking Ginkgo biloba pills, the botanist who is interested in the history of plants and how they reproduce, the historian who has visited London’s Kew Gardens, and someone who is fascinated with Chinese, Korean and Japanese culture, religious practices and history.
Peter Raven, President Emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden in Saint Louis provides a fine foreword that outlines the many facets of the uniqueness of Ginkgo biloba. “…ginkgo stand out by virtue of its unique features, amazing history, and long association with people.†Its distinctive fan-shaped leaves and tall trunks are found in parks, streets and recreational areas throughout the temperate world, but are extremely rare as an uncultivated native tree.
“Among the seed plants, only ginkgo and cycads for motile sperm within their pollen tubes, a fascinating example of the survival of an archaic characteristic.†“Ginkgo has survived essentially unchanged for as much as 200 million years.†- This book tells the history of the Ginkgo tree, from its fossilized past covering millions of years, to its remnant population in China, to its widespread cultivation today. Perhaps the only thing missing is a description of the characteristics of Ginkgo wood.
The author shows a real fascination with the Ginkgo tree, having delved deeply into all aspects of its history and its growth. He seems to know where every individual tree is to be found! He concludes the book with a discussion of the value of preserving not just the Ginkgo, but other rare plants. What I most enjoyed about the book was the author's sincerity in his affection for the plants he studies. - How could there be a whole book about ginkgo? Well now i know. Very well done and worth the read.
