The scientific name "Ginkgo" is the result of a spelling error that occurred three centuries ago. "Kanji" typically have multiple pronunciations in Japanese, and the characters 銀杏 used for "ginnan" can also be pronounced "ginkyō". Engelbert Kaempfer, the first Westerner to investigate the species in 1690, wrote down this pronunciation in the notes that he later used for the "Amoenitates Exoticae" (1712) with the "awkward" spelling "ginkgo". This appears to be a simple error of Kaempfer; taking his spelling of other Japanese words containing the syllable "kyō" into account, a more precise romanization following his writing habits would have been "ginkio" or "ginkjo". Linnaeus, who relied on Kaempfer when dealing with Japanese plants, adopted the spelling given in Kaempfer's "Flora Japonica" ("Amoenitates Exoticae", p. 811). Kaempfer's drawing can be found in Hori's article.