Editing Ginkgo biloba (section)

===Branches===
Ginkgo branches grow in length by growth of shoots with regularly spaced leaves, as seen on most trees. From the [[axil]]s of these leaves, "spur shoots" (also known as short shoots) develop on second-year growth. Short shoots have short [[internode (botany)|internode]]s (they may grow only one to two centimeters in several years) and their leaves are usually unlobed. They are short and knobby, and are arranged regularly on the branches except on first-year growth. Because of the short internodes, leaves appear to be clustered at the tips of short shoots, and reproductive structures are formed only on them (seeds and leaves are visible on short shoots). In ginkgos, as in other plants that possess them, short shoots allow the formation of new leaves in the older parts of the crown. After a number of years, a short shoot may change into a long (ordinary) shoot, or vice versa.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brenner |first1=Eric D. |last2=Katari |first2=Manpreet S. |last3=Stevenson |first3=Dennis W. |last4=Rudd |first4=Stephen A. |last5=Douglas |first5=Andrew W. |last6=Moss |first6=Walter N. |last7=Twigg |first7=Richard W. |last8=Runko |first8=Suzan J. |last9=Stellari |first9=Giulia M. |last10=McCombie |first10=W. R. |last11=Coruzzi |first11=Gloria M. |date=2005-10-15 |title=EST analysis in Ginkgo biloba: an assessment of conserved developmental regulators and gymnosperm specific genes |journal=BMC Genomics |volume=6 |pages=143 |doi=10.1186/1471-2164-6-143 |doi-access=free |issn=1471-2164 |pmc=1285361 |pmid=16225698}}</ref>

[[File:Ginkgo biloba MHNT.BOT.2010.13.1.jpg|thumb|''G. biloba'' trunk cross-section]]

Ginkgo prefers full sun and grows best in environments that are well-watered and well-drained. The species shows a preference for disturbed sites; in the "semiwild" stands at [[Tianmu Mountain]]s, many specimens are found along stream banks, rocky slopes, and cliff edges. Accordingly, ginkgo retains a prodigious capacity for vegetative growth. It is capable of sprouting from embedded buds near the base of the trunk ([[lignotuber]]s, or basal chichi) in response to disturbances, such as soil erosion. Old specimens are also capable of producing aerial roots on the undersides of large branches in response to disturbances such as crown damage; these roots can lead to successful clonal reproduction upon contacting the soil. These strategies are evidently important in the persistence of ginkgo; in a survey of the "semiwild" stands remaining in [[Tianmu Mountain|Tianmushan]], 40% of the specimens surveyed were multi-stemmed, and few saplings were present.<ref name=royer>{{cite journal |first1=Dana L. |last1=Royer |first2=Leo J. |last2=Hickey |first3=Scott L. |last3=Wing |year=2003 |title=Ecological conservatism in the 'living fossil' ''Ginkgo'' |journal=Paleobiology |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=84–104 |doi=10.1666/0094-8373(2003)029<0084:ECITLF>2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=19865243 |issn=0094-8373}}</ref>{{rp|86–87}}