At Kew Gardens, Ginkgo biloba – a meeting with these remarkable prehistoric trees

This remarkable tree is known as a ‘living fossil’, as it is the sole survivor of an ancient group of trees that date back to beyond the time of the dinosaurs. Ginkgo fossils are common in the rocks of the Jurassic and Cretaceous, but today Ginkgo biloba is the only member of its genus, which is the only genus in its family, which is the only family in its order, which is the only order in its class.

The maidenhair tree remains virtually unchanged today and represents the only living bridge between ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ plants (between ferns and conifers). Maidenhair trees can be extremely long-lived, the oldest recorded individual being 3,500 years old.