Distribution
Ginkgo gardneri fossil © Natural History Museum, London
Ginkgo gardneri fossils have only been found in late Palaeocene (approximately 60 million years ago) rocks on the island of Mull in Scotland.
At that time Scotland was much nearer the equator and the climate was subtropical. The ginkgo trees are thought to have grown beside lakes and streams as part of deciduous (broad-leaf) woodland that also included relatives of sycamore, walnut and dawn redwood trees.
In the late Palaeocene, parts of Scotland and Ireland lay adjacent to Greenland and the area was covered by many active volcanoes.
The plants that grew there were pioneers on land covered by volcanic ash and they were frequently disturbed by further eruptions or flooding.
