22. Gingko

This tree, which is not the only Gingko in the Commune, is remarkable from several points of view. It was donated by the Abbaye de l'Aigle Noir (shooting society). Gingko is the ancestor of all trees, and was around 270 million years ago, at the time of horsetails, giant ferns and dinosaurs.

In Asia, it has always been considered a sacred tree. That's why it was planted near temples, and that's where it has survived. Everywhere else, Gingkos have been replaced by other species over time.

In 1945, of all the trees at the point of impact of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in Japan, only 6 Gingko biloba survived and were budding the following year.