Ginkgo trees are known to give off an unpleasant odor every October and November
NEED TO KNOW
- A pair of 75-year-old trees has been emitting a vomit-like smell at the California State Capitol Park in Sacramento
- The ginkgo trees give off the foul smell due to the butyric acid in their fruit’s coating, which smells like “rancid butter and vomit”
- The smell happens every October and November when the female ginkgo tree bears fruit
Two trees at the California State Capitol Park in Sacramento, Calif., have been emitting a foul, vomit-like smell throughout the park, while also creating a hazard with their slippery fruit.
The 75-year-old ginkgo trees have been wafting the unpleasant smell into the air at the Northern California park, forcing residents to brave the stench that is comparable to vomit,The Sacramento Bee and SFGATEreport.
According to an essay titled “Stop and Smell the Ginkgoes,” — written by Ned Friedman, Director of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University — the ginkgo tree produces berries that contain butyric acid in its coating, which is the “same chemical that dominates the smell of rancid butter and vomit.”
In addition to the smell, the tree’s fruit creates a slip hazard, as they can easily get stuck to the bottom of one’s shoe, “leaving the slippery flesh of the fruit on the sidewalk, lawn and the roadway creating an unpleasant smell and a potential safety hazard,” Jennifer Iida, a spokesperson for Sacramento’s Department of General Services, tells The Sacramento Bee…