Deciduous dioecious Chinese tree having fan-shaped leaves and fleshy yellow seeds; exists almost exclusively in cultivation especially as an ornamental street tree
These six groups were the dominant types throughout the period, but during Upper Carboniferous time three other groups arose, the Coniferales, the Cycadophyta, and the Ginkgoales (of which Ginkgo biloba is the only modern representative).
In 1712 Kaempfer published a drawing of a Japanese tree, which he described under the name Ginkgo; this term was adopted in 1771 by Linnaeus, who spoke of Kaempfer's plant as Ginkgo biloba.
On account of the resemblance of the leaves to those of some species of Adiantum, the appellation maiden-hair tree has long been given to Ginkgo biloba.
Seeds like those of Ginkgo biloba have also been recorded as fossils in Jurassic rocks, and it is possible that the type of flower known as Beania, from the Inferior Oolite rocks of Yorkshire, may have been borne by Ginkgo or Baiera.
Ginkgo Biloba The herb ginkgo Biloba The herb ginkgo biloba has been used for many years in Chinese medicine.