Phylum of seed plants represented by one living species, Ginkgo biloba.

This species is
restricted to China where it may be extinct in the wild. The group was well represented
during the Mesozoic with worldwide distribution. Today, Ginkgo biloba is widely planted as
an ornamental. It is especially useful as a street tree as it is tolerant of city polluted air.

Vegetative Characteristics: Deciduous trees bearing distinctive fan-shaped leaves. Branches

with numerous spur shoots that bear the reproductive structures. Stems with extensive
secondary growth producing considerable secondary xylem.

Reproductive Characteristics: Dioecious trees. Megasporangiate trees bearing two ovules at

the end of a stalk. Typically only one ovule develops into a mature seed. Integument includes
three layers. The inner layer develops into the stoney seed coat. The outer two into a fleshy
fruit-like tissue. Because this tissue has a strong, unpleasant odor, "male" buds are typically
grafted onto seedling roots to produce "male" trees for ornamental use. Microsporangiate
("male") trees bear catkin-like microsporangiate strobili. These release pollen
(microgametophytes) that are wind borne. Pollen produces a pollen tube that is haustorial and
which delivers flagellated sperm to an egg in an archegonium of the female gametophyte.
Ginkgophyte, any member of the division Ginkgophyta, a group of gymnospermous
plants of particular interest to paleobotanists. Two of the three genera of ginkgophytes,
Ginkgoites and Baiera, are extinct. The third genus, Ginkgo, has only one member, Ginkgo
biloba, commonly called the ginkgo tree. It is also known as the maidenhair tree because of
the resemblance of its bilobed leaves to those of the maidenhair fern. G. biloba may be the
oldest living seed plant, and it is regarded by some as one of the wonders of the world.

General features
Fossil leaves with similar form and venation to the living Ginkgo have been found in the
Jurassic Period (199.6 million to 145.5 million years ago). These fossils have been described
from such geographically separated areas as Australia, western North America, Mongolia,
Alaska, England, and central Europe. The fossils vary greatly in form and are usually
described as species of the genus Ginkgoites. Almost the same degree of variation in leaf
form can be found on a living Ginkgo tree, however. Some paleobotanists, therefore, have
recommended the abandonment of the genus Ginkgoites and the recognition of several
species of Ginkgo.

There is one type of ginkgophyte leaf in the fossil record that is generally regarded as a
distinct form and is given the generic designation Baiera. The leaf is deeply lobed into four
segments and lacks a stalk (petiole). Following the Mesozoic Era, Ginkgo declined
progressively in its distribution, and some botanists believe that remote portions of
southeastern China are the last natural home of the maidenhair tree. After the outer fleshy
seed coat is removed, the seed kernel is used as food in China and Japan. For 3,000 years or
longer, extracts of the Ginkgo leaf have been recommended in Chinese medicine as
benefiting the heart and lungs. Ginkgo has been investigated for its effects in the treatment of
asthma, toxic shock syndrome, and various circulatory disorders. In addition, it has been used
by many individuals for its purported enhancement of memory function, which has been
studied in hopes of finding a treatment or preventative for Alzheimer disease.

Form and function

Stem

At maturity a Ginkgo tree can reach heights of 20 to 30 metres (65 to 100 feet). Young trees
often have a central trunk with regular, lateral branching; in older trees the branching is
irregular.

A conspicuous feature of Ginkgo is the possession of long branches and short, or spur,
branches. Leaves are produced on long branches during the spring growth. In subsequent
years, clusters of leaves are formed on the lateral short branches. Ginkgo is deciduous, and
the leaves of some varieties turn a beautiful golden colour in the autumn. The colour varies to
some extent among horticultural varieties. There is some plasticity in growth form in that a
short branch may become a long branch or the tip of a long branch may be converted to a
short branch. The interplay between these two types of branches accounts for the more
irregular shape of the older trees. Branching appears to be controlled by the distribution of
auxin, a naturally occurring plant hormone.

The trunk diameters of the older specimens of Ginkgo may become large as a result of
secondary growth. The vascular cambium gives rise to secondary phloem and secondary
xylem (wood) for the conduction of water and dissolved minerals. The growth activity of the
vascular cambium is sustained in the trunk and long shoots and produces a rather hard wood
with well-defined growth rings. The activity of the vascular cambium persists in short shoots,
but only a limited amount of soft wood is produced each year.

LEAVES
One of the most distinctive features of G. biloba is the foliage leaf, which consists of a leaf
stalk (petiole) and a fan-shaped dichotomously veined blade, or lamina. Although biloba (or
bilobed) correctly describes the form of many Ginkgo leaves, there is a great range of
variation in the degree of lobing and dissection among leaves of the same tree. Bilobed and
undivided leaves occur on spur or short branches, while most of the leaves on the upper part
of a long branch are divided by a deep sinus into two lobes, each of which may be further
lobed. Multilobed leaves also occur on new branches (sucker shoots) arising from the tree
trunk at ground level.

The dichotomous venation pattern in a leaf blade is a striking morphological characteristic of

Ginkgo. Two vascular bundles extend through the petiole and give rise to two systems of
dichotomously branched veins. This type of venation was also present in the leaves of extinct
members of the Ginkgoales. Such a system of venation is often referred to as an open type,
devoid of vein fusions. It has been shown, however, that vein unions may occur with some
regularity

Reproductive structures and function

Completion of the entire reproductive cycle, from the advent of pollination to the production
of seeds with well-developed embryos, takes about 14 months. Pollination and the
development of the sexual, or gametophytic, phase of the life cycle occur in the first year
(April to September), but embryo development is not completed until the spring of the
following year.

Ginkgo is dioecious, which means that pollen-producing structures and ovules are produced
on separate trees. The reproductive structures are restricted to the spur branches, where they
are evident in the spring in the axils of bud scales and foliage leaves.

The pollen-producing strobilus is a loose, pendulous, catkinlike structure consisting of a main

axis to which are attached numerous appendages, each of which usually bears two
microsporangia at its tip. Meiosis occurs in cells of the microsporangia, giving rise to
numerous haploid microspores. Cell divisions take place within the microspores, resulting in
the formation of five-celled pollen grains (male gametophytes).

Ovuliferous structures also arise in the axils of bud scales and the foliage leaves of spur
branches. Each consists of a stalk that bears two or sometimes three or more erect ovules. An
ovule is composed of an integument (the future seed coat) surrounding a tissue called the
nucellus. It is in the nucellus that meiosis occurs, resulting in the formation of four haploid
megaspore cells. It is at about this time that pollen grains are released from the
microsporangia of male trees. The pollen (male gametophyte) is carried by wind currents and
adheres to a pollination droplet, which exudes from the micropyle at the tip of the
integument. Retraction of the droplet brings the pollen grains into a pollen chamber in the
nucellus, where they develop into multibranched pollen tubes (male gametophytes).

One of the megaspores in the ovule that results from meiosis enlarges and undergoes a
succession of free nuclear divisions (without wall formation). After about 8,000 haploid
nuclei are produced, cell walls begin to form. After the female gametophyte becomes cellular,
archegonia (normally two) are initiated at the surface toward the micropylar end of the ovule.
An archegonium consists of neck cells and a large egg cell.

The basal end of the filament-like male gametophyte becomes suspended in a cavity above
the female gametophyte (called the fertilization chamber). The spermatogenous cell of a male
gametophyte divides, resulting in the production of two multiflagellated sperm. The sperm
and the contents of the pollen tube are released into the fertilization chamber. The sperm
swim in the liquid for a brief period of time. Approximately 1,000 flagella are attached to a
spiral band at the anterior end. A sperm enters an archegonium and fuses with the egg
nucleus. Ginkgo and the cycads are the only seed-producing plants that have motile sperm.

The growth of the embryo (embryogenesis) may begin shortly after fertilization but continues
after the developing seeds fall to the ground. The embryo grows into the nutritive tissue of
the female gametophyte. A seed at maturity consists of a dicotyledonous embryo, nutritive
tissue of the female gametophyte, and the seed coat, which is made up of a hard inner layer
and a fleshy, orange-coloured outer layer. Because of the presence of butyric acid, upon
decay the fleshy layer emits an odour similar to rancid butter.

Classification

In earlier systems of classification, Ginkgo was placed in the class Coniferopsida, along with
conifers (e.g., pine, fir, spruce). In recent years Ginkgo and its fossil allies have been placed
in a separate group, the division Ginkgophyta (sometimes classified as the class
Ginkgopsida), in recognition of the many characteristics outlined above. The early ancestral
stock of Ginkgo extends back in the fossil record to a time coordinate with the ancestors of
the conifers, but the two groups appear to have evolved independently.
Ginkgophyta is a plant division of non-flowering trees originating over 250 million years ago,
in which all plants except for one, Ginkgo biloba, have become extinct. Ginkgo bilobas are
large, deciduous trees with unusual looking cones and distinctive leaves, they can live for up
to a thousand years. A few hundred million years ago whole forests existed around the world
filled with different species of Ginkgos, but now the one remaining species is native only to
China.

Leaves

Ginkgo biloba leaf

Ginkgo leaves are bi-lobed, tough and more resistant to decay than other leaves. Some leaves
are borne on long stems and turn yellow, die back in winter, then reappear in spring, while
others are on shorter stems that may survive the winter.

Trunk and Vascular System

The bark of Ginkgos is fissured and the trunks may reach to 4m in diameter.

The vascular system of Ginkgos, and also conifers, are different to that of flowering plants.
While flowering plants have a series of tube-like cells to conduct water, Ginkgos have
connecting cells with tiny perforations, these are valves that close when water is in short
supply so that turgidity is preserved.
Reproduction and Survival
Ginkgos are dioecious. The male cones grow from the shoot tip in clusters and release pollen.
The female ovules (cones) appear in twos on the end of a stalk and do not look much like the
cones of conifers. Each ovule has a drop of fluid, the pollination drop, that traps pollen to
enable fertilisation.

Ginkgo sperm cells are motile, swimming to the ovule using thousands of hairs. This is
something that occurs in cycads too (see previous blog) and in ferns, but not conifers or
flowering plants, so is a throwback to a more primitive form of reproduction. Once fertilized
the ovule grows into something resembling a fruit containing the seed.

Ginkgo seeds contain two cotyledons (seed leaves), but these never expand or emerge,
instead they remain embedded in the seed providing nutrition for the seedling. The first
leaves to appear above ground are true leaves with the distinctive Ginkgo shape, this is called
hypogeal germination.

Ginkgos have a few clever ways of surviving and reproducing:

Like cycads, Ginkgos have been known to change sex, so that the male trees start producing
fruits and seeds. This is an effective way of propagating when there are no females around.

Ginkgos have a tendency to put out suckers from the ground that point upwards, but older
trees sometimes also have odd downward growths, called Chichi, hanging from a single
branch like stalactites. When these growths hit the ground they can start growing new roots
and eventually form into a new tree, this is seems to be a form of reproduction for when the
main tree is coming to the end of its life.

If Ginkgos are hacked right back to the bare trunk they can regrow, either growing from the
damaged stem or by putting out new shoots from the ground.

Ginkgos are also very resistant to pests, diseases, fires and pollution.

Ginkgo biloba contains Flavonoids and Terpenoids which are naturally occurring chemical
groups found in plants.

Flavonoids
Use for the plant: pigmentation, assisting in nitrogen fixation and cellular function

Use for humans: thought to have anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-cancer

and anti-diarrheal properties although this is not fully proved.

Terpenoids
Use for the plant: provide pigmentation and smell. They are thought to act as a deterrent to
herbivorous insects and an attractant to insects that may eat herbivorous insects. They also are
found in flowering plants and are used to attract pollinators. They may have antioxidant
benefits for plants.
Use for humans: they have been used in traditional medicines for many years, although their
effectiveness is not proved, they may have antibacterial properties and they may also have
antioxidant benefits.

Why do plants have medicinal properties?

We have enemies in common: plants have evolved chemicals that fight some of the same
insects, fungi and bacteria that also plague humans.

Poisons can also be cures: mammals are often problematic for plants and so they have
evolved ways to fight them off, but these ways may also, in small amounts, be cures. For
example, Digitalis affects heart rate and is fatal in large amounts, but in small amounts can
regulate heart rate.

While researching this question I have come across a common belief that plants evolved
medicines in order to benefit humans, that by cultivating plants we made it beneficial for
them to produce certain chemicals. However since plants first evolved 400 million years ago
and evolved those chemical defenses millions of years ago, yet Homo sapiens only evolved a
few hundred thousand years ago and only started cultivating plants 12,000 years ago, this
isnt really likely.