Ginkgo Leaves

I never thought much of ginkgo leaves until recently.  Then, I saw a beautiful plate on Etsy (the one below, specifically, a gorgeous chartreuse piece by HopeJohnson) and I knew I had to use ginkgo leaves as one of my card designs.

Ginkgo Dipping Dish

I loved the fan shaped leaves on the long thin stems (ah! you know how I love those spindly legs!).  They are just so perfectly odd I had to use them.  I didn't even realize til later that ginkgo leaves are on ginkgo trees.  I prefer to imagine them bobbing on their own in the gentle breeze, growing in tall clumps in a marsh or bog.

Red Ginkgo Card

I also found out a few interesting things about ginkgos along the way.  For one, ginkgo is a living fossil, meaning that it has no close living relatives, having been the one survivor of all major extinction events.  That basically means it's a tree right out of the Jurassic period.   Also, the leaves are unique among seed plants, with their lovely fan shapes.  I like the idea that maybe all the weird plants I illustrate were once at home right alongside the ginkgo.  Perhaps I should look into prehistoric botany.