Ginkgo

This article is about the genus of mainly extinct trees. For its single living species, the ginkgo tree, see Ginkgo biloba. For the biotech company, see Ginkgo Bioworks.

Ginkgo
Temporal range: Middle Jurassic – Present
Ginkgo leaves in autumn
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Ginkgophyta
Class: Ginkgoopsida
Order: Ginkgoales
Family: Ginkgoaceae
Genus: Ginkgo
L. [1]
Type species
Ginkgo biloba
Species
Synonyms [2]

Salisburia Sm.

Ginkgo is a genus of non-flowering seed plants, assigned to the gymnosperms. The scientific name is also used as the English common name. The order to which the genus belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian,[3] 270 million years ago, and Ginkgo is now the only living genus within the order. The rate of evolution within the genus has been slow, and almost all its species had become extinct by the end of the Pliocene. The sole surviving species, Ginkgo biloba, is found in the wild only in China, but is cultivated around the world. The relationships between ginkgos and other groups of plants are not fully resolved.

  1. ^ R. Govaerts. "Ginkgo L., Mant. Pl. 2: 313 (1771)". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Archived from the original on September 28, 2012. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  2. ^ "Genus: Ginkgo L." Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on December 20, 2008. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  3. ^ Royer et al. (2003)