NC State Ginkgo Tree Sheds Leaves for Fall
The 2022 Tree of the Year marks another season on North Campus, highlighting the city's commitment to urban botany.
Updated on Oct. 28, 2026 in Botany
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Raleigh's 2022 Tree of the Year, a ginkgo located on the NC State North Campus, is currently shedding its leaves. This individual tree represents a species with a fossil record dating back 60 million years.
Why it matters
The ginkgo tree highlights the intersection of urban arboriculture and biological history, showcasing how ancient species adapt to modern campus environments. It serves as a focal point for campus sustainability efforts and local botanical interest.
The campus hosts 10,000 trees, with 100 species cataloged in an interactive map. Ginkgo biloba is an ancient lineage, with ancestors that have existed for 200 million years and fossils appearing 60 million years ago.
The players
NC State Sustainability Fund
An institutional entity that manages campus green initiatives and maintains the interactive botanical database.
International Union for Conservation of Nature
The global authority on the conservation status of species that designated the ginkgo as endangered.
The details
Ginkgo biloba is a deciduous gymnosperm capable of surviving in confined urban settings, as its root system remains stable despite proximity to structures like Park Shops and Page Hall. The tree is marked with a plaque and monitored through a database established by the NC State Sustainability Fund, which uses tags to track individual specimens across campus grounds.
Timeline
1998: The International Union for Conservation of Nature classified Ginkgo biloba as an endangered species.
2022: The tree was officially named Raleigh's Tree of the Year.
Fall 2026: The tree enters its seasonal leaf-shedding cycle.
The Tech Race
The tree sits within the NC State Interactive Tree Map, a digital catalog of the 10,000 trees present on campus. This inventory effort follows broader trends in urban forestry management, where data-driven tracking replaces anecdotal knowledge of tree health.
Visitors to the North Campus can locate the tree between Park Shops and Page Hall to observe its seasonal color changes. The tree remains accessible to students and the public, with identification tags providing context for its biological history.
The takeaway
The presence of this ginkgo illustrates the successful integration of ancient species into modern campus architecture. Readers can observe the tree's transition annually each fall as it sheds its leaves near the North Campus buildings.
Further reading
For more on plant documentation and regional flora, visit the Botany section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Technician.
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