Table Of ContentSpringer
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T. Hori . R.W. Ridge· W. Tulecke
P. Del Tredici . J. Tremouillaux-Gui1ler
H. Tobe (Eds.)
Ginkgo Biloba
A Global Treasure
From Biology to Medicine
With 118 figures including 13 in color
Springer
Terumitsu Hori, Dr.
Professor, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Tsukuba
1-1-1 Tenno-dai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305 Japan
Robert W. Ridge, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Division of Natural Sciences
International Christian University
3-10-2 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo, 181 Japan
Walter Tulecke, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, Department of Science, Antioch College
795 Livermore Street, Yellow Springs, OH 45387, U.S.A.
Peter Del Tredici, Ph.D.
Director, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University
125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130, U.S.A.
Jocelyne Tremouillaux-Guiller, Dr.
Laboratory of Cellular Biology and Plant Biochemistry
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Francois Rabelais University
31 Avenue Monge, 37200 Tours, France
Hiroshi Tobe, Dr.
Professor, Faculty of Integrated Human Studies, Kyoto University
Yoshida-nihonmatsu, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-01 Japan
ISBN-l3: 978-4-431-68418-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ginkgo biloba, a global treasure: from biology to medicine I T. Hori
... let al.].
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-4-431-68418-3 e-ISBN-13: 978-4-431-68416-9
DOl: 10.1007/978-4-431-68416-9
1. Ginkgo. 2. Ginkgo-Utilization. I. Hori, T. (Terumitsu),
1938- .
[DNLM: 1. Trees-anatomy & histology. 2. Plant Extracts. QK 475
G492 1997]
QK494.5.G48G55 1997
585.7-dc21
DNLM/DLC
for Library of Congress 97-27106
Printed on acid-free paper
© Springer-Verlag Tokyo 1997
Softcover reptint of the hardcover 1st edition 1997
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material
is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broad
casting, reproduction on microfilms or in other ways, and storage in data banks.
The use of registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence
of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations
and therefore free for general use.
Product liability: The publisher can give no guarantee for information about drug dosage and
application thereof contained in this book. In every individual case the respective user must check its
accuracy by consulting other pharmaceutical literature.
98765432
Typesetting: Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong
SPIN: 10681515
Foreword
It is agreed by most scientists that there is a real possibility of mankind's being
plunged into crisis around the middle of the twenty-first century because of
insufficient crop production to support the explosively increasing world popula
tion and because of serious pollution of the global environment. Plants should
play the major role in alleviating this crisis. Consequently, plant science will
become of crucial importance in the next century.
The application of plant science to crop improvement and the production of
plants resistant to environmental pollution will be achieved through complete
understanding of the basic functions of plants. Fundamental understanding of
individual species and the evolution of plants is also important.
The Botanical Society of Japan, which was established in 1882, decided to
publish a series of special issues of the Botanical Magazine, Tokyo (now the
Journal of Plant Research). The aim of this series was to present overviews of
recent advances in various fields of plant sciences. As a result, The Botanical
Society of Japan published Controlling Factors in Plant Development in 1978,
Regulation of Photosynthetic Processes in 1991, and Cellular and Molecular Biol
ogy in Plant Cell Cultures in 1993. The contributions to these high-quality special
issues were written by leading international scientists in each field, and these
publications had a great impact worldwide.
In 1997 The Botanical Society of Japan is publishing two monographs
following on from the previous publications. One is Ginkgo Biloba-A Global
Treasure, edited by Drs. T. Hori, R.W. Ridge, W. Tulecke, P. Del Tredici, J.
Tremouillaux-Guiller, and H. Tobe, commemorating the 100th anniversary of
the discovery of Ginkgo sperm by Sakugoro Hirase, a Japanese botanist, who
published his findings in the Botanical Magazine, Tokyo (now the Journal
of Plant Research). The other is Evolution and Diversification of Land Plants;
edited by Drs. K. Iwatsuki and P.H. Raven. Since elucidation of the mechanisms
of evolution is a major goal of plant science and of biology in general, this
topic is most fitting for a publication just prior to the beginning of the twenty first
century.
I trust that these two books published by The Botanical Society of Japan will
provide readers with information at the very forefront of plant science.
v
VI Foreword
As the president of The Botanical Society of Japan, I would like to acknowl
edge the editors and distinguished contributors for devoting their valuable time
to these publications.
April 1997
ATSUSHI KOMAMINE
President
The Botanical Society of Japan
Preface
Ask any Japanese what a Ginkgo is, and you will be told that it is a common tree
in Japan, planted along streets, in temples and shrines, in school grounds and
parks. Indeed, it would be very difficult to find a Japanese person who has never
gathered its beautiful yellow leaves in autumn or who has never tasted delicious
Ginkgo nuts. The same can be said for Chinese and Koreans. People of an older
generation would tell how they used to insert two or three Ginkgo leaves in a
book to protect the pages from being stained, and to kill worms and harmful
insects, and that they used to give grilled nuts to children who wet their beds.
Some may mention family crests or logos that incorporate Ginkgo-leaf designs.
Westerners who have seen Ginkgo trees usually say that they love the shape of
the leaves and their bright autumn color, or they may mention the disagreeable
smell of the Ginkgo nuts when they are ripe.
Ginkgo was first officially described by Linnaeus (Ginkgo bi/oba L. 1771).
There are two synonyms: Salisburia adiantifolia Smith (1797), and Pterophyllus
salisburiensis Nelson (1866). Ginkgo has many common names in various parts of
the world: icho (silver apricot), yajiao (duck foot), gong sun shu (grandfather/
grandson tree), white fruit, Ginkgo tree, Ginkgobaum, Kew tree, maidenhair
tree, Machenhaarbaum, temple tree, arbre aux quarante ecus, noyer du J apon,
and many more.
Ginkgo is dioecious, that is, the female and male structures are borne on
separate trees. There are no obvious morphological attributes of Ginkgo to
distinguish the sexes, however, apart from the emergence of the sporangia in the
spring, which usually does not occur until the tree is around 30 years old. When
young, the tree is usually pyramidal in shape, and when older, more spreading
and broader in the crown. In some countries, such as Korea, Japan, and China,
female trees are preferred because the people appreciate the taste of the nuts and
have eaten them for centuries. In other countries, especially in the West where
there is no tradition of eating the nuts, male trees are preferred over females
because of the unpleasant smell of the fruit.
Ginkgo can grow over 35 meters high, with the main stem up to 10 meters in
girth. They are long-lived. Leaves are deciduous, scattered on long shoots, or
crowded at the apex of short shoots; they are stalked and are variable in size and
VII
VIII Preface
shape. Generally, leaves are bilobed, without a midrib, and are fan-shaped. Veins
are dichotomously forked and sometimes anastomose. A number of varieties are
known in leaf and tree forms; these are variegata, tubiformis, triloba, pendule,
macrophylla laciniata, or fastigiata. Some trees exhibit an interesting phenom
enon; reproductive organs (macrosporangia or microsporangia) are directly pro
duced on leaves without stalks or peduncles. This is called oha-tsuki that is
"attached-to-Ieaves" in Japanese. The female and male trees which produce oha
tsuki also grow normal ovules (macrosporangia) or anthers (microsporangia)
with stalks, respectively. This was first mentioned in the Japanese literature over
100 years ago. Most of these trees are designated as "living national treasures" in
Japan because of their rarity and specialness.
The Ginkgo family, the Ginkgoaceae, have their origin in the Permian, some
200 to 225 million years ago. They are known to have reached their peak in
Jurassic times, about 100 million years ago. Ginkgo species were very wide
spread, and fossil leaves have been found just about everywhere in both the
southern and northern hemispheres. From the historical record it is clear that no
other plant has a stronger claim to be called a living fossil, a term used by Darwin
to designate survivors of the past. The tree was thriving 125 million years ago,
when dinosaurs still roamed the earth, and the genus has remained virtually
unchanged from that time. G. bi/oba is the sole living member of this once
abundant group of plants, and it is clearly a precious link between the present and
the remote past.
Ginkgo is said to survive in a wild state only in a remote mountain region in
China. However, it is much cultivated throughout the world, especially in Japan,
China, and Korea. Nowadays many countries have Ginkgo plantations where
small trees are farmed for ginkgolide chemicals found in the leaves. Ginkgo is
now recognized as a medicinal plant in Europe and the United States, as it has
been since ancient times in Asia. Ginkgo is also a great survivor in polluted
environments, growing where other trees find it difficult, and it is exceptionally
resistant to fungus and insect attacks.
One hundred years ago, the Japanese botanist Sakugoro Hirase presented his
discovery of the swimming sperm of Ginkgo in The Botanical Magazine, Tokyo,
the organ of the Tokyo Botanical Society, now called the Journal of Plant
Research. This great discovery was an epoch-making event in botany, because it
placed Ginkgo as the sole living link between the lower and higher plants. To
celebrate the centenary of that discovery, The Botanical Society of Japan agreed
to publish this commemorative monograph.
You may find books with articles about Ginkgo, many of which were written in
Japanese and Chinese. A great number of plant dictionaries written in various
languages mention Ginkgo. There are also books on Ginkgo that focus on medi
cine, pharmacology, and chemistry. So far, however, there have been no mono
graphs published on Ginkgo that cover a wide range of topics.
Articles have been contributed by specialists in Ginkgo throughout the world,
and this is thus the first comprehensive monograph on Ginkgo to be published. It
covers botany (Part I); paleobotany (Part II); ethnobotany (Part V); chemistry,
Preface IX
medicine, and pharmacology (Part IV); and environmental engineering (Part
III). The editors hope that the monograph will act as a stimulant for further
studies and contribute to the development of new fields in Ginkgo research. As
we think it important to summarize what research has been done on Ginkgo since
Hirase's discovery, this monograph not only presents the state of the art in
Ginkgo research but also reviews work published during the last 100 years. There
are many references listed, some dating as far back as the mid-15th century.
Reading this book, you will see that Ginkgo has been considered an attractive
and useful tree for centuries.
We would like to acknowledge the financial support of The Botanical Society
of Japan for the publication of this Volume. We thank all those who have
encouraged the publication of the book, in particular, the many authors.
Spring 1997
The Editors
Contents
Foreword...................................................... V
Preface ........................................................ VII
Contributors ................................................... XV
Structure and Development
Morphology and Anatomy of Vegetative Organs in Ginkgo bi/oba
N. HARA ....................................................... 3
Pollen Morphology of Ginkgo bi/oba
N. SAHASHI ..................................................... 17
Development of the Male Gametophyte of Ginkgo bi/oba: A Window
into the Reproductive Biology of Early Seed Plants
W.E. FRIEDMAN and E.M. GIFFORD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Development of the Female Gametophyte and the Embryogeny of
Ginkgo biloba
S.SOMA ..................................................... .... 51
Contribution to the Knowledge of Fertilization of Gymnosperms with
Flagellated Sperm Cells: Ginkgo bi/oba and Cycas revoluta
T. HORI and S. MIYAMURA ........................................ 67
Ultrastructure of Ginkgo biloba
R. ROHR ....................................................... 85
Analysis of Flagellar Movement in Ginkgo biloba Sperm by High Speed
Video Microscopy
R.W. RIDGE, T. HORI, and S. MIYAMURA ............................ 99
Chromosomes of Ginkgo bi/oba
M. HIZUME ..................................................... 109
Lignotuber Development in Ginkgo bi/oba
P. DEL TREDICI ........... , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
XI
XII Contents
Cyclic Embryogenesis from Male and Female Protoplasts
J. TREMOUILLAUX-GUILLER ....................................... 127
Tissue Culture Studies on Ginkgo bi/oba
W. TULEcKE .................................................... 141
Phylogeny and Fossil History
The Genetic Diversity of Isozymes and the Possible Dissemination of
Ginkgo bi/oba in Ancient Times in Japan
Y. TSUMURA and K. OHBA .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Molecular Phylogeny of Ginkgo bi/oba: Close Relationship Between
Ginkgo bi/oba and Cycads
M. HASEBE ..................................................... 173
Mesozoic Ginkgoalean Megafossils: A Systematic Review
Z. ZHOU........................................................ 183
Cenozoic History of Ginkgo in East Asia
K. UEMURA .................................................... 207
Fossils and Phenology in the Evolution of Ginkgo bi/oba
G.W. ROTHWELL and B. HOLT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Environmental Aspects
Tolerance and Susceptibility of Ginkgo to Air Pollution
Y.S. KIM, J.K. LEE, and G.c. CHUNG ............................... 233
Ginkgo and Insects
H. HONDA ...................................................... 243
Fungal Association with Ginkgo bi/oba
T. AOKI ........................................................ 251
Ginkgo Landscapes
M. HANDA, Y. IIZUKA, and N. FUJIWARA ....... ,.................... 259
Chemistry and Clinical Application of Ginkgo Substances
Flavonoids of Ginkgo bi/oba
K. YOSHITAMA .................................................. 287
Allergic Substances of Ginkgo bi/oba
N. KOCHffiE ..................................................... 301
