page_title: Ginkgoales
section_title: Ginkgophyte wood
hierarchical_section_title: Ginkgoales / Morphology / Ginkgophyte wood
caption_attribution_description: English: Live reconstruction of Cretophasmomima melanogramma Wang, Béthoux and Ren (several exemplars) among Membranifolia admirabilis Sun and Zheng, 2001 in Sun, Zheng, Dilcher, Wang and Mei, 2001 (interpreted as Gingkophyte leaf organ). A less camouflaged early orthopteran, Parahagla sibirica Sharov, 1968, is captured by the insectivorous Eomaia scansoria Ji, Luo, Yuan, Wible, Zhang and Georgi, 2002, one of the earliest eutherian mammals. Reprinted under a CC BY license, with permission from S. Fernandez. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0091290.g007
context_page_description: Ginkgoales is a gymnosperm order containing only one extant species: Ginkgo biloba, the ginkgo tree. It is monotypic, within the class Ginkgoopsida, which itself is monotypic within the division Ginkgophyta. The order includes five families, of which only Ginkgoaceae remains extant.
context_section_description: Fossils that appear Ginkgo-like are filed under a morphogenus called Ginkgoxylon, Ginkgomyeloxylon, or Protoginkgoxylon. Fossilized ginkgophyte wood is not commonly found in the record, possibly because it degrades easily, and possibly because it is difficult to tell apart from the much more pervasive conifer samples. Like conifer wood, it has secondary thin-walled xylem and a primary vascular system composed of eustele and bifacial vascular cambium.  The tracheids in the secondary xylem rays have pitting that occurs only on the walls and is circularly bordered.
caption: This recreation displays one example of early Gingkophyte foliage.
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