Someone is fighting Toronto over a stinky tree that smells like vomit

Everyone imagines Toronto's City Hall debating housing, transit, and billion-dollar budgets, but this week's municipal drama instead involves a tree that smells as bad as a festival porta-potty on a hot summer's day.

The current issue centres around a City-owned female ginkgo tree at 117 Glen Park Ave. in North York. In May, the homeowner asked the City for permission to remove the tree, arguing that the fallen seeds create a foul odour and a slippery hazard on the sidewalk.

At first, the answer was a hard no.

The City has some strict rules when it comes to trees. Healthy City-owned trees typically can't be removed unless there's a real safety concern. Urban Forestry staff argued that the 33-centimetre-diameter ginkgo tree in front of the home is "healthy and maintainable," so they initially recommended denying the permit. 

Here's why it was important to highlight the tree's gender: experts say only female gingko trees produce a ton of butyric acid within their yellow fleshy seed coat. Many people equate the stench of it with poop or vomit, and they're not wrong — as it turns out, it's the same compound found in rotten butter and, yes, vomit.

"[It is] a spectacularly revolting aroma that I can only describe as a combination of rancid butter and something you might accidentally step on in the off-leash area," says Toronto horticulturist Steven Chadwick. 

Royal Botanical Gardens Canada says the ginkgo tree, native to Southeast and South central China, is one of the oldest living tree species in the world. The trees bear fruit in the fall, which may explain why certain neighbourhoods smell especially funky in September and October. 

Ward 12 Toronto-St. Paul Councillor Josh Matlow appears to empathize with Toronto residents. In May, Matlow filed a motion asking forestry staff to look for creative ways to help get rid of the smell, which "creates undue hardship for nearby residents and surrounding communities," just like the one at 117 Glen Park Ave.

Matlow asked staff to consider whether female ginkgo trees should be treated differently under the City's tree rules because of their "noxious smell."

Urban Forestry staff responded by recommending a one-tree solution: that North York Community Council approve the removal of the female ginkgo at 117 Glen Park Ave. as an "interim approach" while the City figures out how it wants to handle these specific trees moving forward.

The recommendation still needs approval from North York Community Council before the tree can come down. If approved, the City would remove the famously funky tree and replace it with a different species altogether, hopefully one that allows neighbours to breathe a little easier.

City staff are expected to report back to Council in early 2027 with more recommendations on how Toronto should manage female ginkgo trees as part of the ongoing Tree By-law Review.

Until then, Toronto's stinky tree debate has yet to be uprooted.