| | Family guide for fruits and seeds |
Synonyms: Salisburiaceae Link, nom. illeg.
Common name: Ginkgo Family.
Number of genera 1. Number of species 1 (Ginkgo biloba).
Gymnosperm.
Disseminule a cone, or a seed.
Cones
Cone fleshy; a spermidium when fleshy (Spjut Fig. 50fruit and only family). Fruiting scales absent. Fruiting bracts absent.
Seeds
Aril absent. Seed minute; circular; in transection terete; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); without canavanine. Sarcotesta present (sarcotesta-like); fleshy. Testa present; with fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer (with watery layer below); tight; surface unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface wrinkled; without crease or line separating cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle; without notch along margin where cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle tip approach each other; without glands; without bristles; glabrous; without wings; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; orange to yellow; fleshy or bony layers; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; 0.3–0.5 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; linear; straight; parallel to seed length; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; 0.7 times length of embryo; 1 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; smooth; with apices entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted.
Distribution
Old World. Asia Major (China & widely planted).
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ISTA listed seeds.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Ginkgo biloba L.t -- Symbols: aagricultural and vegetable seeds (Table 2A Part 1); ttree and shrub species (Table 2A Part 2); fflower, spice, herb, and medicinal seeds (Table 2A Part 3); wweed seeds. -- Last updated September 2008.
Accepted genera
Ginkgo L.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 0 (not present).
General references
Gunn, C.R., J.H. Wiersema, C.A. Ritchie, and J.H. Kirkbride, Jr. 1992 and amendments. Families and genera of Spermatophytes recognized by the Agricultural Research Service. Techn. Bull. U.S.D.A. 1796:1–500, Page, C.N. 1990. Coniferophytina (Conifers and Ginkgoids). In: Kubitzki, K., ed., The families and genera of vascular plants, pp. 282–361. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Mabberley, D.J. 1987. The plant-book, 706 p. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Martin, A.C. 1946. The comparative internal morphology of seeds. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 36:513–660, Schopmeyer, C.S. 1974. Seeds of Woody plants in the United States. Agric. Handb. 450:1–883, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
Acceptable spermidium & seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): "cone", or seed, or embryo. Illustrated "cone": spermidium. "Cone" illustration(s): Spjut [by definition there is not much to illustrate]. Seed illustration(s): Karen, Schopmeyer. Embryo illustration(s): Karen, Schopmeyer, Martin. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 403: Ginkgo biloba L. (A-B).
• Seed. 1 of 3. Ginkgo biloba L.: seed. • Embryo. 2 of 3. Ginkgo biloba L.: embryo. • Embryo. 3 of 3. Ginkgo biloba L.: embryo.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘J.H. Kirkbride, Jr., C.R. Gunn, and M.J. Dallwitz. 2000 onwards. Family guide for fruits and seeds: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Version: 12th April 2021. delta-intkey.com’.
