ABSTRACT
Some possibility for confusion of ginkgo (G. biloba) identity in the older literature exists. In 1797, an English botanist decided that the scientific name, Ginkgo biloba, given by Linnaeus, was “uncouth and barbarous,” so he renamed it Salisuburia adiantifolia Sm., which never really became recognized. Because some features of ginkgo are similar to conifers, it was initially included in the family Taxaceae, but was later moved to its own family, the Ginkgoaceae (Huh and Staba, 1992). Description
Ginkgo is a dioecious tree with male and female reproductive organs on different trees. At 20 years old, ginkgo trees are able to reproduce and ultimately develop naked seeds which have an outer fleshy layer. The female trees develop pendulous pairs of ovules at the tips of the short shoots which are mature at the time of pollination (Huh and Staba, 1992).
