Nature Atlas

How Nature Works
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme

Switch Atlas

Specy

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)

Conifers and Other Gymnosperms

The ginkgo is a large deciduous tree native to China, the sole surviving species of a group of trees that has existed for over 200 million years, earning it a reputation as a living fossil with no other close living relatives. It has distinctive fan-shaped leaves that turn a brilliant golden yellow in autumn before dropping over a short period, and the tree is unusually resistant to disease, pollution and pests, allowing individual trees to live for well over a thousand years. Ginkgo trees are either male or female, and the female tree produces a fleshy seed coat with a notoriously foul, rancid smell when it falls and decomposes, which is why male trees are strongly preferred for street and garden planting. Long cultivated in temples and gardens across East Asia, the ginkgo has become a popular ornamental tree worldwide and remains especially resilient in urban environments, having famously been among the first plants to resprout near the hypocenter of the Hiroshima atomic bombing.

Facts
Classification
Diet
Photosynthetic Autotroph 2
System (Realm)
Terrestrial 3
Relationship to People
Used in Traditional Medicine 1
Living or Extinct
Yes 1
Derived from this species' own Conservation Status: this atlas's IUCN category list has no Extinct value, so a set conservation-status is itself evidence of living status.
Identification
Distinguishing Appearance
A tree with a conical crown in youth that becomes broader and more irregular with age, with unique fan-shaped leaves whose veins radiate into the blade and sometimes fork. 1
Comparison
NatureServe Rank
G1 Critically Imperiled 4
CITES Appendix
Not Listed 5
Scientific Name
Ginkgo biloba 1
Conservation Status
Endangered 1
Connections

Child Taxon Of

Ginkgoopsida, Taxa
Source Wikidata: Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)

In Biome

Temperate Forest, Biomes
Source Ginkgo biloba (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Armenia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Austria

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Belgium

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Brazil

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Colombia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Croatia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Cyprus

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

France

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

India

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Iran

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Italy

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Japan

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Mexico

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

North America

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Norway

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Romania

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Taiwan

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Turkey

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

United States

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. Ginkgo biloba (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Introduction
    Ginkgo biloba, commonly known as ginkgo ( GINK-oh, -⁠goh), also known as the maidenhair tree, and often misspelled "gingko" (see Taxonomy below) is a species of gymnosperm tree native to East Asia.
  • Description section
    The leaves are unique among seed plants, being fan-shaped with veins radiating out into the leaf blade, sometimes bifurcating (splitting).
  • Infobox: status
    EN
  • article text (relationship to people), EntityId 279930
    Ginkgo has been used in traditional Chinese medicine since at least the 11th century CE. Ginkgo seeds, leaves, and nuts have traditionally been used to treat various ailments, such as dementia, asthma
  • In Biome: Temperate Forest, Distribution and habitat
    Where it occurs in the wild, Ginkgo is found infrequently in deciduous forests and valleys on acidic loess (i.e. fine, silty soil) with good drainage.
View the Source
2. Ginkgo biloba (Wikipedia)
a species of gymnosperm treeView the Source
3. World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)
World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)View the Source
4. NatureServe Explorer: Ginkgo biloba
NatureServe ExplorerGlobal rank (roundedGRank)
Quote, Global rank (roundedGRank)
"roundedGRank": "G1"
View the Source
5. UNEP-WCMC Species+ database (CITES Secretariat): Species+: Plantae
UNEP-WCMC Species+ database (CITES Secretariat)Species+ taxon_concepts, id 45
Quote, Species+ taxon_concepts, id 45
"cites_listing":"I/II/III/NC","eu_listing":"A/B/C/D/NC","higher_taxa":{"kingdom":"Plantae","phylum":null,"class":null,"order":null,"family":null},"synonyms":[],"common_names":[{"name":"Plants","language":"EN"},{"name":"Flora","language":"EN"}],"cites_listings":[]
View the Source
Wikidata: Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
  • Wikidata Q43284, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
  • Child Taxon Of: Ginkgoopsida, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chain
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.