Leaf guide › Other hardwoods
Ginkgo
Ginkgo biloba
A golden fan-shaped leaf from a city tree with a very old family history.
- Fall color
- Yellow
- Turns
- Late
- Leaves
- Clustered on short spurs
- Size
- 2–3 in. across
- Found in
- New England & New York, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, Great Plains, Rockies, Southwest, Pacific Northwest, California
How to recognize it
- Fan shape with fine veins radiating from the stem, and no midrib.
- Often a notch in the middle of the top edge.
- Leaves grow in clusters on short knobby spurs.
- Turns uniform gold, then drops nearly every leaf within a few days.
Where to find it
Look for it along city streets and in parks and college campuses. Ginkgo is rare in the wild anywhere, and nearly every ginkgo in the U.S. was planted.
Where you’ll see it this fall
Ginkgo is one of the main trees in the fall color at these destinations. Dates are the typical peak.
New York: New York City (Oct 31)
Pennsylvania: Philadelphia (Oct 31)
Washington, D.C.: Washington (Oct 31)
Worth knowing
Ginkgo’s lineage goes back more than 200 million years. Cities usually plant male trees, because females drop fruit that smells like rancid butter. Here’s more on why ginkgo drops its leaves all at once.
Common questions
What color does ginkgo turn in fall?
Ginkgo turns an even, butter-yellow, with nearly every fan on the tree the same shade at the same time.
When does ginkgo change color?
Late. It’s one of the last trees to color, and it’s known for dropping most of its leaves within a few days, often right after a hard freeze.
Where does ginkgo grow?
In the lower 48, look for it in New England & New York, the Mid-Atlantic, the Southeast, the Midwest, the Great Plains, the Rockies, the Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, and California.
See where the color is peaking today.
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