Ginkgo stinko

One of my favorite things about this time of year are the beautiful yellow ginkgo trees that dot our local area, but along with their beauty there's a not so pretty element. There are male and female ginkgo trees, and the female trees bear ginkgo nuts. They're tasty to eat when prepared correctly, but when they fall on the ground to just rot they're known for their stinky smell. The smell is likened to everything from dog excrement to rotten cheese, and has the same chemical compound in it that vomit does. 

Beautiful, but with a downside!

Mapping out the stink is serious business, too. The Weathernews Japan app actually polled people about how stinky it has been in their local area as a result of ginkgo nuts, with over 12,000 people responding. There's a pictograph on their site that I linked above, with some places having up to 40% of people saying they've got the ginkgo stink in their area. I haven't noticed it yet, but I'll be sure to keep my nostrils at the ready for the sake of research!

Have you ever noticed the unpleasant smell of fallen ginkgo nuts in your local area?