Fruits of a female ginkgo tree. These contain a large amount of butyric acid, which is also found in butter and some cheeses. When the fallen fruits bruise and rot, they release the sharply characteristic odor of butyric acid (reminiscent of vomit...it's what's responsible for the smell of rancid butter). The nut, found inside the fruit, is edible, but I've never had the nerve--or the stomach--to sift through fallen ginkgo fruits when I have found them around Grounds. Better to enjoy them while they are still whole and green--and some thirty feet above me on the tree.
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