Ginkgo biloba, commonly known as ginkgo or the maidenhair tree, is a species of gymnosperm tree native to East Asia. The tree is an ancient species dating back 270 million years to the Jurassic period. A native species of China, it became extinct in the wild and was preserved in Buddhist temples. Usually, the male species is grown. The female produces nut-like gametophytes used in Japanese cooking. The tree casts very little shade.
The River Wye floods several times each winter, covering this bottom section of the palace gardens. This ginkgo tree is planted at a spot where the highest level of flooding into the garden has been recorded in the last four years.