Ginkgo seeds

This being Autumn it’s time for the annual shedding of seeds by the female Ginkgo trees in our neighborhood.  Anyone who knows these trees is aware of the characteristically offensive odor emitted by the seeds when they are stepped upon.  This smell, which derives from the butyric acid within, is powerful and, for lack of a polite comparison, I’ll say simply that it is reminiscent of vomit.  Why am I bringing this up in this blog?  Not because these trees are unique to Switzerland.  In fact, Ginkgo biloba is not even native here.  I raise this topic as an illustration of Swiss fastidiousness.  Last week, as happens every year at this time, the city sent out the forces who, working from lifts,  meticulously  shook the seeds from the trees so that they could be vacuumed up prior to being stepped on.  We can’t have our neighborhoods smelling like puke after all.