Until the Song dynasty [960-1279 AD] the Chinese name for Ginkgo was ‘duck foot’ 鴨腳, referring to the shape of its leaves. The kernel was called ‘duck foot seed’ 鴨腳子. The name was changed to ‘silver apricot’ 銀杏 for the purpose of presentation to the imperial ruler, having been determined that ‘silver’ was auspicious […]