Maidenhair Tree (Ginkgo Biloba)
The maidenhair tree, whose botanical name is Ginkgo Biloba, or commonly known as Ginkgo or Gingko, is a species of tree native to China.
The tree is a living fossil and probably the oldest fossil is Trichopitys from the earliest Permian period dating back over 290 million years ago.
Although it seems impossible, many parameters of the life history of Ginkgo indicate that a single species has lived as a continuous entity for millions of years.
For example:
- Extremely long life span
- Slow regeneration rate
- Wide distribution
During the Cretaceous, the diversity of species in the genus Ginkgo decreased and the number of flowering plants increased. It is hypothesized that the flowering plants was better adapted to disturbance.
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