Ginkgoaceae

Ginkgoaceae
Temporal range: 199.6–0 Ma
Jurassic - recent
Jurassic Ginkgo leaves
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Ginkgophyta
Class: Ginkgoopsida
Order: Ginkgoales
Family: Ginkgoaceae
Genera
  • Baiera
  • Ginkgo
  • Ginkgodium
  • Ginkgoites
  • Phoenicpsis
  • Polyspermophyllum
  • Trichopitys

The Ginkgoaceae is a family of gymnosperms which appeared during the Mesozoic Era, of which the only extant representative is Ginkgo biloba, which is for this reason sometimes regarded as a living fossil. Formerly, however, there were several other genera and forests of ginkgo existed. Because leaves can take such diverse forms within a single species, these are a poor measure of diversity, but wood structure points to the existence of diverse ginkgo forests in ancient times.[1]

Principal genera

External links

References

  1. ^ Gnaedinger, S. (2011). "Ginkgoalean woods from the Jurassic of Argentina: Taxonomic considerations and palaeogeographical distribution". Geobios. doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2011.01.007.  edit