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| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
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Ginkgo (Chinese name). Syn., Salisburia. Ginkgoaceae, one of the segregates from the Coniferae. One species in northern China and Japan, the sole remainder of a more numerous tribe in geologic time; now widespread as a street and park tree and also prized for the edible seeds.
Tall tree, with wedge-shaped deciduous lvs.: fls. small and mostly dioecious; pistillate fl. solitary, the single naked ovule ripening into a drupe; staminate fls. in slender, loose catkins: fr. a drupe about 1 in. diam., containing a very large lenticular seed or kernel.
The '''Ginkgo''' ('''''Ginkgo biloba'''''; ''''銀杏'''' in Chinese), frequently misspelled as "Gingko", and also known as the '''Maidenhair Tree''', is a unique [[tree]] with no close living relatives. It is classified in its own division, the '''Ginkgophyta''', comprising the single class '''Ginkgoopsida''', order '''Ginkgoales''', family '''Ginkgoaceae''', genus '''''Ginkgo''''' and is the only [[extant|extant species]] within this group. It is one of the best known examples of a [[living fossil]]. In the past it has also been placed in the divisions [[Spermatophyta]] or [[Pinophyta]]. Ginkgo is a [[gymnosperm]]: its seeds are not protected by an [[ovary (plants)|ovary]] wall. The apricot-like structures produced by female ginkgo trees are technically not [[fruit]]s, but are the seeds having a shell that consists of a soft and fleshy section (the [[sarcotesta]]), and a hard section (the [[sclerotesta]]).
The '''Ginkgo''' ('''''Ginkgo biloba'''''; ''''銀杏'''' in Chinese), frequently misspelled as "Gingko", and also known as the '''Maidenhair Tree''', is a unique [[tree]] with no close living relatives. It is classified in its own division, the '''Ginkgophyta''', comprising the single class '''Ginkgoopsida''', order '''Ginkgoales''', family '''Ginkgoaceae''', genus '''''Ginkgo''''' and is the only [[extant|extant species]] within this group. It is one of the best known examples of a [[living fossil]]. In the past it has also been placed in the divisions [[Spermatophyta]] or [[Pinophyta]]. Ginkgo is a [[gymnosperm]]: its seeds are not protected by an [[ovary (plants)|ovary]] wall. The apricot-like structures produced by female ginkgo trees are technically not [[fruit]]s, but are the seeds having a shell that consists of a soft and fleshy section (the [[sarcotesta]]), and a hard section (the [[sclerotesta]]).
For centuries it was thought to be extinct in the wild, but is now known to grow wild in at least two small areas in [[Zhejiang]] province in eastern [[China]], in the [[Tian Mu Shan Reserve]]. However, as this area has known human activity for over a thousand years, the wild status of ginkgos there is uncertain.
For centuries it was thought to be extinct in the wild, but is now known to grow wild in at least two small areas in [[Zhejiang]] province in eastern [[China]], in the [[Tian Mu Shan Reserve]]. However, as this area has known human activity for over a thousand years, the wild status of ginkgos there is uncertain.
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