Tree belonging to the
gymnosperm (or naked-seed-bearing) division of plants. It may reach a height of 30 m/100 ft by the time it is 200 years old. (
Ginkgo biloba.)
The only living member of its group (Ginkgophyta), widespread in Mesozoic times (24565 million years ago), it has been cultivated in China and Japan since ancient times, and is planted in many parts of the world. Its leaves are fan-shaped, and it bears fleshy, yellow, foul-smelling fruit enclosing edible kernels.
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