The recent book, Ginkgo, by Peter Crane is an exceptionally
well written tale about a tree. Not just any tree, but one of the longest
surviving species around. This tale covers the history of its discovery, the
people involved, the biology of the tree, and it discusses the trees
interaction with man from both the Eastern and Western perspective.
If you have never met a ginkgo, then you are in for a
surprise. Just walk down any street in Manhattan and I would bet there are a
half a dozen or more around. They are indestructible and live upon the urban
exhaust from cars and trucks. They can survive quite well in most temperate
environments, just add CO2, water and sunlight. Not too cold and not too hot
and they take off.
I have been growing ginkgoes from seed for a couple of
decades. Each tree is different and one grows three feet a year. After twenty
years it is over sixty feet tall. It gets abundant water sitting on the edge of
a daylily garden. Others are slow growers, just a few inches. Yet they all have
the distinctive leaf, and in the fall the distinctive golden yellow leaf, and
then they all drop on the same day. It is a wonderful orchestrated act of
nature.
Crane goes through this tree and uses it to tell many tales.
Tales of paleobotany and the paleobotanists. People who look for plants in the
rocks from millions of years ago. Then he explores the biology of the ginkgo.
It is a plant which has male and female versions, and both are often necessary
for reproduction. The seed is coveted as an edible treat whereas the seed
covering is quite distasteful.
Also Crane discusses the evolutionary placement amongst on
the one hand ferns and on the other hand conifers. Ginkgoes are gymnosperms,
naked seeds, unlike what we have in flowering plants. Yet in many ways Crane
argues they have a linkage to ferns as well.
Crane takes the reader on a journey from discovery, through
understanding and ultimately to uses. Ginkgo is used for decorative purposes, it
is used as a medication, and its wood has value in such areas as fine wood art.
Crane leaves the reader off with a broad discussion of the
survival of species. Ginkgo is an example of a species which had dwindled down
but as a result of man’s attraction to the plant has thrived. They have gone
everywhere. A sort of Intelligent Survival to play on words. Crane speaks of
the good and the less good in the area of survival, with his discussion of
treaties which meaning well have deteriorated to protection of national
interests that often do not benefit the species.
The book is exceptionally well written and is accessible to
the general reader. For those who may know a bit more this is not a significant
step forward. It is obviously a book for the general public and as such serves
that purpose masterfully. Having a bit more knowledge I kept asking for more,
but alas that was not the purpose of the work.
For example, color photographs would have been helpful,
albeit costly. Also a better discussion of the reproductive cycle of the ginkgo
would be helpful with some useful graphics. It is so unique that it is truly
worth the effort. Yet the uniqueness presupposes that the reader understand
basic embryology, alas not met by many a reader. Finally the genetic analysis
would have been enlightening. The placement of the Ginkgo is some form of
evolutionary tree based upon DNA analysis would have been exceptionally well
received. That I believe is not asking too much since most High School students
have some knowledge there.
Overall I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested
in plants, their evolution, association with mankind and their preservation. Ginkgoes
may very well help mankind through dramatic climate changes since they managed
many over their 200 million year lifetime.
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