November 21: a book for National Tree Day

This book tells the longest story ever dedicated to a tree. It was written by Peter R. Crane, one of the greatest
plant leontologists of the world. The profound scientific knowledge, the passionate attention to the evolutionary events testified by the fossil remains and the singular reproductive biology of Ginkgo biloba, have inspired the creation of this book that reads like a novel, dedicated to the biography of a species whose conservation today it is entrusted to man. A plant that is the only current representative of an entire systematic group, a true living fossil that survived dramatic events of millions of years of Earth's history.

Probably extinct in the wild, ginkgo is a tree cultivated in many parts of the world, an object of respect and devotion for many Eastern peoples. But it is also a source of food, medicinal preparations, commercial objects and artifacts. It is also a beautiful tree that adorns the avenues, parks and gardens of many cities. In China, Japan, Korea, some specimens are over a thousand years old and are venerated as divinities. Whoever reads this book will share with the author the fascinating historical and cultural journey of a being that seems forgotten by time.

Ginkgo. The tree that time forgot
Translation by Gianni Bedini, revision by Fabio Garbari