GINKGO BILOBA

With its 22-metre height and 3.35-metre trunk circumference measured at 1 metre from the ground, the emblematic Ginkgo Biloba in the Town Hall garden doesn't go unnoticed, especially in autumn, when it takes on a splendid golden hue!

Awarded the "Remarkable Tree of France" label in June 2025, a recognition that underlines its singularity and heritage value, it is said to have been introduced in the late 18th century by Auguste Broussonet, a naturalist and doctor from Lodève.
Its planting in the former bishops? winter garden, now the town hall?s enclosure, is traditionally attributed to the botanical work of Joseph Vallot, following an 1886 publication mentioning "Ginkgo Biloba (salisburia adiantifolia, essayé de 1886 à 1901" in his book "Les plantes exotiques ornementales que l?on peut cultiver dans la région de l?olivier, seize ans d?acclimatation à Lodève".

Nicknamed "the tree of forty écus", the Ginkgo Biloba is considered a veritable living fossil, the sole survivor of a botanical family more than 270 million years old. A remarkable specimen of a species of Ginkgo Biloba was discovered at Soumont and is now on display at the Musée de Lodève.