The ginkgo trees (银杏 yin xing) of the stele forest
Behind the main entrance of the Shaolin Temple are about the Balance distributed three major ancient ginkgo trees of imposing appearance. One of them should be more than 1500 years old and is considered the oldest ginkgo tree in the monastery grounds. It is said that he is wearing only flowers but no fruit more developed, why it is "Luohan-tree" (罗汉 树 luohan shu) called. Another ginkgo tree falls through the holes in its trunk, which allegedly caused by the exercises of Shaolin monks to harden their fingers. Of the numerous visitors of the temple there are of course particularly the students of the Shaolin Gongfu, who feel attracted to him. He donates the autumn plenty of fruits, which are from those who know their value, will be collected early in the morning eager.
.
.
Countless people move every day under those trees over, some even take the time to rest on the benches in their shade and enjoy its beauty . Whether they know well that they sit under dinosaurs of the plant world?
The Ginkgo biloba is considered the oldest living fossil of plant life on earth. He is the last representative of the botanical order of "Ginkgoales. The turn is the only representative of the class "Ginkgophyta" of which remained with us as the oldest example of a leaf fossil from the time before 270 million years (!). Once, in both Asia and in North America and Europe is home to the Ginkgo disappeared during the first era from North America and 2.5 million years ago from Europe. Even in Asia, its presence reduced to refuges in southwestern China. Natural resources ("wild ginkgo) were still in the remote area of Tianmushan (天目山) of the Chinese province of Zhejiang suspects, now you, however, assumes that there ginkgo trees have been planted by monks. As a cultivated plant of the ginkgo tree found in China widely, especially for ornament and use of its seeds and leaves.
early 18 Century came the Ginkgo back to Europe. The tree was first in botanical gardens, and later - more planted in parks, gardens and roadsides - because of its robustness. In North America, he appeared again, in significant: in the State of Carolina is now the world's largest with 2.5 square miles Acreage of ginkgo trees for the production of medical preparations. Sales of natural products derived from them is to be equal in the U.S. alone each year to about 300 million €. Thus, the ginkgo has been very a significant economic factor.
Ginkgo biloba is used both in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and in the West as a medicinal plant. Even in ancient Chinese medical writings on the healing powers of its leaves is described. In TCM it to treat respiratory diseases such as asthma and bronchitis, as well as in TBC, circulation problems and Gonorrhea can be used. Also, skin diseases, frostbite and wounds treated.
In the west, the ginkgo leaves efficacy in the treatment of dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease rumored. Such studies, however, have different results, the majority of the studies was rather negative results. The effectiveness of the "white spot disease (" Vitiligo "), a skin disorder of the skin, but has been proven and is probably due to the antioxidant properties of leaves due. Furthermore, it is usually highlighted by the blood flow and neuroprotective effects of ginkgo leaves.
The seeds of the tree were in the old days in China also used for medical purposes, often with similar indications, as the leaves, but also to support the digestion and protecting against infections. In addition, it was believed that they compensate for a kidney yang deficiency and thus promote sexual energy. They were in the 11th Century as a small treat that you offered special guests, popular and have remained so to this day. Used only the yellow core of the seed, but not raw. It is usually roasted and salted snack or served as a side dish or used as a spice. Of excess (5 Seeds / day) or regular consumption is strongly discouraged, as the inside of the seed can cause symptoms of poisoning.
In China, the Ginkgo biloba is revered since ancient times for its beauty and symbolism of a sacred tree, usually planted in temples and palace gardens. Since it has a high resistance to pests and in terms of climate and soil is very modest, it can reach a great age and is a symbol of resilience, adaptability and longevity. So there are quite a few copies in China who have reached a height of about 40 meters and where an age of more is said than 1,000 years. The bark of the tree is also the departure of a substance attributed to fire-insulating effect. Again, this is a good reason why the ginkgo tree is planted in temples like today and in their vicinity.
Because of the similarity of a ginkgo leaf with the stamp of the foot of a mandarin duck, the tree in the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) "Entenfuss (鸭 脚 ya jiao) called. From 11 Century was also the name of "Silver Apricot (银杏 yin xing) in use today in China is the most commonly used name of the tree. Other names are "White fruit" (bai guo 白果) and "grandfather-grandson-tree" (to sun 祖孙 树 shu), the latter refers to the fact that the tree bears fruit only in old age, so must be planted by his grandfather, so that the can reap grandson the fruit.
05/19/2010 / yss
copyrighted
0 comments:
Post a Comment