What’s Planted Behind Grant’s Tomb?

By Corey Kilgannon
GingkoTwo women forage for gingko berries behind Grant’s Tomb, in Morningside Heights. (Photos: Corey Kilgannon/The New York Times)

So there I am, fresh off my last week’s blog post about a Greek couple from Astoria digging for edible dandelions on the Long Island Expressway, when I see two Chinese women foraging the ground behind Grant’s Tomb, in Morningside Heights. There are several gingko trees in the park behind the tomb, and this time of year the leaves are bright yellow and falling.

The women were filling up plastic bags with the little round, fleshy fruits dropped from the tree, and I asked one of the women about them. She spoke enough English to say that she spoke no English, but conveyed that they eat the fruit.

She said her name was Vivian (“no last name”), and she mimicked doing exercise and a slapped her chest to convey that the fruit made one healthy and robust.

The women gathered the fruit for about an hour, filling several bags, then left.

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Marley November 18, 2008 · 1:28 pm

The explanation pantomimed and conveyed in partial English to my inquiries in Fort Green Park last fall were that its all about making soup! Taking this literally I tested the fruit raw off the tree and to the two Chinese women’s giggling delight (or horror)… I found the berries to be something like a cherry, but FAR from ripe and fantastically bitter. They do, however, not taste as bad as they smell. I’m sure once cooked and seasoned they are infinitely more palatable.

I’ve yet to try the traditional five-berry soup.

Larry Eisenberg November 18, 2008 · 1:34 pm

Gingko berries are the best,
Cherished in the East, (not West),
Treasure trove back of Grant’s Tomb,
They’ll be eaten, but by whom?

Peter November 18, 2008 · 1:41 pm

Hey, it is President AND Mrs. Grant’s Tomb.

David McClelland November 18, 2008 · 1:46 pm

The edible part of the gingko is the inside of the pit not the soft flesh of the fruit. Take the ripe fruits home in a plastic bag and squeeze off the flesh without opening the bag. Then open and rinse off the pits and roast them lightly in a cast iron fry pan. The toasted nuts are a traditional treat sold along the philosophers walk in Kyoto. They are also a common ingredient in Chinese soups.

Matthew November 18, 2008 · 2:11 pm

UG, my botanist ears are arching at the phrase “fleshy fruits .” The Gingko is a conifer, and does not produce fruits. Rather, they are seeds with a shell that is soft and fleshy. Seeds are ripened ovules. Fruits, on the other hand, are the ripened ovaries of the plant.

I know this may not matter to most people, but a Ginkgo (conifer) is to an Apple as a Platypus is to a Dog.

Bubster November 18, 2008 · 2:38 pm

— David McClelland

— Matthew

DM – thanks, I had no clue what to do with them. Now watch for a stampede of the curious to Grant’s Tomb.

M – it’s an interesting bit of information, whether it matters or not. The strange thing about NYT comments is that one can sometimes learn something – compare the Washington Times or Fox websites.

Leslie November 18, 2008 · 2:43 pm

This is an uptown tradition, where have you been? Having grown up on the upper west side I’ve witnessed this foraging every fall since I was a little girl…some 30-something years now. Douglass Housing is another hot spot for these trees. They do smell horrible.

Mr. Fat Boy November 19, 2008 · 1:11 am

Dear Mr. Kilgannon,

I appreciate your articles, but this one may be a bit offensive to my Chinese people. I think the word choices used in this article were rather ill-advised as it promoted racism against Chinese people who do not speak good English. The article also suggests a specific stereotype of Chinese people, bringing forth image of them greeding for free stuff. I personally am a little bit offended and I am sure a lot of my friends or colleague will agree, regardless of their race.

We are currently living in an America that needs unity to overcome different issues in the country. I hope you will take my comment seriously and be more respectful to Chinese, or other races for that matter. Let’s unite as a whole and make our country an even better place.

Hells Kitchen Guy November 19, 2008 · 2:03 pm

to Mr. Fat Boy:

I don’t detect any hint of racism in this article at all. On the contrary, I think it allows people to understand one another.

As per per one of your claims: “them greeding for free stuff”. Have you ever seen Ginkgo seeds in the market? In more than a vile at a health food store? So therefore, if you want to make this soup, you need to collect the seeds from free sources.

Also, I have a friend who works in the parks department: he says that Chinese always collect this food. He’s seen groups of 10 people under particularly large trees. So, the idea that this article is racist is rediculous; it’s simply obsurving what poeple do in an unbiased way.

Nice article :-)

Maangchi November 19, 2008 · 4:01 pm

No wonder my friend sent me this link today!
I lo~ve gingko nuts. It reminds me of my old blog about gingko nuts. I wrote about it in June, 2006. I copy and paste it here. By the way, I’m Korean!

“Gingko tree

One day, my friend Nicole told me strange trees were in front of her apartment building.

She couldn’t figure out what kind of trees they were.
She had no idea why the trees were planted just at the entrance of the building because she and all residents of the apartment had to endure the stinky smell given off from the ripe fruits every year when winter started.

She said the superintendent of the apartment cleaned up
the fallen leaves and fruits once a year regularly by shaking
the ripe fruits off the trees.

What made her more surprised was that those fallen fruits
were picked by an Asian woman every year harvest time.

“What is she going to do with the fruits that smell like barf!?”
Once I heard it, I easily could figure out it was a gingko tree. I told her it belongs to nut tree.

That winter, I was told from Nicole that there were lots of fallen ginko nuts on the ground.

I picked the nuts and cracked open, cooked stir fry and shared with friends including Nicole.
She couldn’t believe they were from the stinky stuff.

One day in winter time, Nicole came home from her work and found an Asian woman squatting down and picking up ginkgo nuts.
She assumed that it was me!

“Hi, Maangchi!“ The Asian woman looked back by her call, but she was another Asian lady.
When I got a call from Nicole to tell me this, I said, “The Asian woman is my enemy now.
She is stealing my precious ginko nuts!”