75-Year-Old Trees Are Emitting A ‘Vomit’-Like Stench At This California Park

75-Year-Old Trees Are Emitting A ‘Vomit’-Like Stench At This California Park

uaetodaynews.com — 75-Year-Old Trees Are Emitting a ‘Vomit’-Like Stench at This California Park

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 SFGATE report.

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.”

Ginkgo tree in California.

Getty


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.

The berries also contain toxins and should be handled with gloves, so that is another hazard the tree presents, the outlet reports.

One tree is located in a publicly accessible area, while the other is in a construction zone. The trees were reportedly among three ginkgo plants originally planted in the 1950s by Gov. Goodwin Knight and other state officials, per the outlet.

According to SFGATE, the smell is so foul this season that officials have blocked off the trees with metal barriers and put up signs to encourage the public to stay away.

Fruit from a ginkgo tree.

Getty


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The stench, which occurs every October and November, comes from female ginkgo trees when they bear fruit in the fall, but only after they reach maturity at 20 to 30 years old. Iida tells SFGate that they’ve had to fence off gingko trees in the past, “depending on the fruit yield.”

PEOPLE reached out to Sacramento’s Department of General Services for comment, but they did not immediately respond.

Disclaimer: This news article has been republished exactly as it appeared on its original source, without any modification.
We do not take any responsibility for its content, which remains solely the responsibility of the original publisher.


Disclaimer: This news article has been republished exactly as it appeared on its original source, without any modification.
We do not take any responsibility for its content, which remains solely the responsibility of the original publisher.


Author: uaetodaynews
Published on: 2025-10-30 17:25:00
Source: uaetodaynews.com

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