Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) · Herb Profile

At a glance

Botanical name: Ginkgo biloba
Family: Ginkgoaceae
Part used: Leaf
Taste: Bitter, Sweet
Temperature: Neutral
Moisture: Neutral

No pre-1900 source found for this part. The one old reading describes the nut, and this entry is about the leaf.

Safety at a glance

In pregnancy

Avoid

While breastfeeding

Limited data in lactation; avoid as precaution due to bleeding concerns in infant.

For children

Avoid therapeutic doses under 12

Cautions

Avoid pre-surgery; avoid with anticoagulants; seizure risk at high doses

General contraindications

Avoid — antiplatelet activity

Stewardship

Ginkgo is cultivated globally; leaves harvested in late summer. Native stands in China are small. Wild ancient groves are protected. Stewardship: a living fossil — guardian of deep time — commands reverence.

In the traditional record

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) — cultivated in Chinese temple gardens for over a millennium and considered a living relic of the pre-flowering plant world; the seeds (bai guo) are documented in classical Traditional Chinese Medicine materia medica for respiratory, urinary, and reproductive applications.

Which herbs suit your body?

The same herb can calm one person and wire another. Our free assessment reads your pattern across temperature, moisture and tone, then matches herbs to it.

Take the free assessment Open Ginkgo in the Apothecary

Teaching children at home? Eden's Table builds a full herbalism curriculum around plants like this one.

Educational use

The Apothecary is educational and does not constitute medical advice. Nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before changing what you take, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or managing a diagnosed condition.

On our sources

These entries draw on public-domain materia medica, most of it published before 1900, alongside a smaller number of modern reference works. Energetic qualities such as warming, cooling, drying and moistening are a traditional framework for describing how a plant behaves in the body, not a laboratory measurement. Where a period source states one, we cite it. Where none does, and for many North American herbs none exists, the value reflects modern herbal consensus rather than a historical text. When we cannot support a caution with real evidence, we say nothing rather than guess.