A large shade tree. An upright columnar, sparsely branched, and open growth habit in youth, usually becoming an upright oval to upright spreading growth habit with maturity, but sometimes becoming highly irregular and picturesque in its branching with age. Medium growth rate.

Plant in full sun to partial sun. Prefers moist, deep, sandy soils in full sun, but is very adaptable to stressful situations, including poor soils, compacted soils, various soil pHs, heat, drought, Winter salt spray, and air pollution .

Medium green and unusually obovate (fan-shaped), up to 3” long, with a petiole that is also up to 3” long; this shape and the elongated petiole cause the foliage to flutter in the slightest breeze
alternate along the terminal stems, but clustered on the numerous short spur shoots the leaf blade apex is sometimes entire, but often has a single vertical slit in the top center (hence the specific epithet biloba); rarely, two slits occur, yielding three lobes veins are slightly raised (giving a ribbed appearance to the foliage) and usually dichotomous (forked)
fall color is usually chartreuse, but may be golden-yellow in excellent years, or yearly with certain cultivars selected for dependable fall color.

Dioecious (male and female flowers are borne on separate trees, with cultivars selected for male fruitlessness)
pendulous catkins on male trees pollinate the pendulous pistillate flowers on 2” peduncles on female trees in March and April
this species may not flower (and therefore also may not fruit) until it is about twenty years old

Fruits on female trees, the tan-orange oval fruits are pendulous from the spur shoots, often produced in great abundance and becoming an abscising mushy mess in September and October, covering the ground with fleshy, strongly malodorous fruits
for this reason, male clones grafted onto seedling understock are preferred as landscape trees; alternatively, the placement of a tree of unknown gender away from public access areas is the proper course of action