Ginkgo biloba trees have leaves unlike those of any other plant alive today. These fan-shaped leaves are, by far, the most identifiable feature of the tree - distinguishing the ginkgo from other gymnosperms. The term “biloba,” which literally means two lobes, comes from the two-lobed structure of the leaves. Despite the fact that it is a gymnosperm, the ginkgo leaf can be generically classified as a deciduous broad-leaf.
Description - Ginkgo leaves are simple, flat and fan-shaped. Leaves are most often bright green, but they may turn dark green with fertilization. The leaf surface is waxy and fairly smooth, except for its slightly raised veins. Leaves are wider than they are long and vary considerably in shape. The most typical form consists of two outward forked, partially separated lobes. Leaves are borne on short shoots. Ginkgo trees are deciduous. Leaves turn chartreuse to golden yellow before shedding from trees all at once.
Taxonomy - Taxonomy is the science of naming and organizing species into similar groups, using the morphology of plants to distinguish them from one another. The plant kingdom is divided into broyophytes, which includes mosses, and vascular plants. Vascular plants are further divided into seedless Gymnosperms, such as the gingko, and seeded Angiosperms. Gymnosperms encompass about 500 species of conifers, 100 species of cycads, 64 species of Gnetales and one ginkgo.
Cycad and Conifer Associations-The ginkgo biloba is the only surviving member of the Ginkgoales order of plants and the only tree that exclusively occupies its own division, class, order, family and genus. Reproductively, ginkgo trees are most similar to cycads. Like the cycad, the ginkgo is a dioecious plant with divided seed coats and motile sperm. On the other hand, the growth pattern and vegetative morphology of ginkoes is most similar to that of conifers.
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