A living fossilFirst observed in the fossil record ~270 million years ago, the gingko has been descr

A living fossilFirst observed in the fossil record ~270 million years ago, the gingko has been described as a living fossil, remaining relatively unchanged (at least in physical appearance) for more than 200 million years. Nearly all of its species went extinct by the end of the Pliocene (approximately 2.58 million years ago) and are represented by one sole representative, Gingko biloba. Gingko biloba as the name suggests, can be distinguished on the basis of its fan-shaped leaves with two separate lobes. Today, the species is only found in the wild in parts of China, but is cultivated across the world, able to grow in a range of temperatures, resistant to pollution and pests.The Ginkgoales are a group of gymnosperms, without any obvious relation to any living plant, however, they are thought to be more closely related to conifers than to any other gymnosperms (plants which produce seeds). Throughout their history, the Ginkgoales experienced rapid diversification, leading to an increase in the number of species during the middle Jurassic, with maximum diversity occurring during the Cretaceous. Several species have been identified from Asia, Europe and North America. In the Paleocene, Ginkgoaleas diversity was reduced to a single polymorphic species, referred to as Gingko adiantoides. This species is almost indistinguishable from that of the extant Ginkgo biloba.AHPSourceshttp://bit.ly/1nn4ZdHhttp://bit.ly/1SamGLhhttp://bit.ly/1BRYMbyhttp://bit.ly/1VqxQZIImagehttp://bit.ly/1VqxQZI -- source link

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