Biology
Ginkgo biloba leaves © Natural History Museum, London
Ginkgo gardneri was probably a relatively large tree, like the modern species, Ginkgo biloba.
The trees were dioecious - some trees were male and some female.
The male trees produced pollen in small cones that was probably blown on the wind to female ovules (eggs) that then developed into seeds. These seeds have also been found as fossils and look rather like pistachio nuts.
In modern trees, the seeds are sometimes eaten but the fruit surrounding them smells so bad it has been banned from being planted in some cities.
The seeds then grew into small trees and the successful ones found gaps in the forest and competed with the other plants to reach maturity.
