Guest column: Auburn a good home for the largest ginkgo tree in NYS

When it comes to number — and quality — of historical or significant sites, Auburn certainly punches above its weight. From the Seward House Museum to the Harriet Tubman Home and national historical park, Auburn makes about as good a claim as any city at being "History's Hometown," as the slogan goes. In fact, one of Auburn's sites, the Cayuga Museum of History & Art on Genesee Street, has another attraction living right on its grounds: the largest ginkgo tree in New York state, according to the museum.

Because of its location, a bit set back and away from the corner of Genesee and Washington streets, the Cayuga Museum's ginkgo flies somewhat under the radar. That said, the tree is simply gigantic, at least 80 feet in height, with an equally large crown and even more impressive trunk. It dominates the museum's yard and all the other trees in the vicinity. The tree's most notable feature, as with all ginkgos, is the vibrant yellow that its fan-shaped leaves become during autumn. (For this reason, Ginkgos are sometimes also called maidenhair trees, as their leaves resemble the leaves of the maidenhair fern.) There is something almost otherworldly about these leaves — they look nothing like the oak or maple leaves that are familiar to many upstate New Yorkers.

Moreover, while ginkgos are certainly striking trees — especially Auburn's gigantic specimen — the species' history is, perhaps, even more fascinating.

The ginkgo is a fantastically ancient species. Some botanists believe that the tree has existed, largely unchanged, for over 200 million years. Its fruit may even have evolved to attract, and be dispersed by, large mammalian species (perhaps dinosaurs) that went extinct tens of thousands of years ago. Ginkgos were once an incredibly widespread species; however, for reasons not yet completely known to science, the species became extinct in most of its ranges after the last ice age. Luckily, small pockets of the tree persisted in regions of Asia. Several thousand years ago, people in China began cultivating the tree for the meaty flesh within its seeds.

During the age of exploration, European explorers became enchanted with the ancient species, bringing specimens back to wealthy European and American cities. Ginkgos even reached Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War. Once in the United States, the tree quickly gained popularity among the country's notables. Over time, however, the species' novelty faded.

That said, it has retained popularity among several groups. Horticulturists, for instance, have remained interested in the species, primarily because they have been able to develop many different varieties of the tree. City planners, also, remain among ginkgos' biggest supporters, as the species is uniquely suited for urban environments, due to its hardiness in tough growing environments. This has made ginkgos one of the most common street tree species in the world. In Auburn, for instance, you can find ginkgos planted along Genesee Street, State Street and South Street, among a multitude of other roads. Walking along any of those streets during ginkgos' fruiting season, however, makes another defining characteristic of the species apparent: the foul-smelling fruit that the female trees produce. So, if you're looking to add a ginkgo to your garden, make sure to purchase a male tree. Finally, hobbyist big tree hunters also remain interested in ginkgos.

In fact, believe it or not, competition over which particular tree is the largest of its species can get rather heated. While the Cayuga Museum does claim that its tree is the largest ginkgo in New York state — and it certainly is massive — there are several other challengers for the title. For instance, an exceptionally large ginkgo lives in Albany County. New York City, further, is also home to several large specimens. And, as ginkgos are not native to New York, the species is not included in the state's big tree registry, which is a list of the largest native trees of each type in the state.

So while we may never really know if our ginkgo is the largest of its kind in the state, we should take some pride in the fact that it's obviously very pleased with its home in Auburn.

The Cayuga Museum of History & Art boasts many beautiful works inside its walls.

Nathan Lesch, of Sennett, is a Master of Public Policy candidate at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University.

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