Editing Ginkgo biloba (section)

===Classification===
The relationship of ginkgo to other plant groups remains uncertain. It has been placed loosely in the divisions [[Spermatophyta]] and [[Pinophyta]], but no consensus has been reached. Since its seeds are not protected by an [[ovary (botany)|ovary]] wall, it can morphologically be considered a [[gymnosperm]]. The apricot-like structures produced by female ginkgo trees are technically not [[fruit]]s, but are seeds that have a shell consisting of a soft and fleshy section (the [[sarcotesta]]), and a hard section (the [[sclerotesta]]). The sarcotesta has a strong smell that most people find unpleasant.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jaikumar |first=Devika |date=2008-05-15 |title=Wake Up and Smell the Ginkgos |url=https://arboretum.harvard.edu/stories/wake-up-and-smell-the-ginkgos/ |access-date=2024-06-13 |website=Arnold Arboretum |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Šamec |first1=Dunja |last2=Karalija |first2=Erna |last3=Dahija |first3=Sabina |last4=Hassan |first4=Sherif T. S. |date=2022-05-23 |title=Biflavonoids: Important Contributions to the Health Benefits of Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba L.) |journal=Plants |language=en |volume=11 |issue=10 |pages=1381 |doi=10.3390/plants11101381 |doi-access=free |issn=2223-7747 |pmc=9143338 |pmid=35631806}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Duara |first=Nigel |date=2009-10-05 |title=Smell has some cities ripping out ginkgo trees |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/smell-has-some-cities-ripping-out-ginkgo-trees/ |access-date=2024-06-13 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

The ginkgo is classified in its own [[division (botany)|division]], the Ginkgophyta, comprising the single class Ginkgoopsida, order Ginkgoales, family [[Ginkgoaceae]], genus ''[[Ginkgo]]'' and is the only [[extant taxon|extant species]] within this group. It is one of the best-known examples of a [[living fossil]], because Ginkgoales other than ''G. biloba'' are not known from the fossil record after the [[Pliocene]].<ref name=ZhouZheng>{{cite journal |last1=Zhou |first1=Zhiyan |last2=Zheng |first2=Shaolin |title=Palaeobiology: The missing link in Ginkgo evolution |journal=Nature |volume=423 |issue=6942 |pages=821–822 |year=2003 |pmid=12815417 |doi=10.1038/423821a |bibcode=2003Natur.423..821Z |s2cid=4342303}}</ref><ref name="ucmp">{{cite web
|url=https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/seedplants/ginkgoales/ginkgofr.html
|title=Ginkgoales: Fossil Record
|access-date=3 June 2008
|author1=Julie Jalalpour |author2=Matt Malkin |author3=Peter Poon |author4=Liz Rehrmann |author5=Jerry Yu |year=1997
|publisher=[[University of California, Berkeley]]
}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Ginkgo yimaensis.jpg|Extinct ''[[Ginkgo yimaensis]]''<ref name=Bego>Approximate reconstructions by B. M. Begović Bego and Z. Zhou, 2010/2011. Source: B.M. Begović Bego, (2011). Nature's Miracle ''Ginkgo biloba'', Book 1, Vols.&nbsp;1–2, pp.&nbsp;60–61.</ref>
File:Ginkgo apodes.jpg|Extinct ''[[Ginkgo apodes|G.&nbsp;apodes]]''<ref name=Bego/>
File:Ginkgo cranei.jpg|Extinct ''[[Ginkgo adiantoides]]'', or possibly a new US taxon, ''[[Ginkgo cranei|G.&nbsp;cranei]]''<ref name=Bego/>
File:Ginkgo biloba (new form).jpg|Extant ''G. biloba''<ref name=Bego/>
</gallery>