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https://theconversation.com/dinosaur-food-and-hiroshima-bomb-survivors-maidenhair-trees-are-living-fossils-and-your-new-favourite-plant-164630>
"Most of us are captivated by the thought of a “living fossil”, which is any
organism that appeared millions of years ago in the fossil record and survives
today, relatively unchanged.
The maidenhair tree,
Ginkgo biloba, ticks all the boxes of this definition.
The genus
Ginkgo is well known in China and Japan where it has special
significance in Buddhism and Confucianism, and first became known to European
botanists in the late 1600s.
Today, ancient ginkgo fossils can be found all over the world, some of which
are almost 300 million years old – a time when dinosaurs roamed the planet.
Let’s delve further into what makes this species so remarkable: from its
ability to survive nuclear bombs, to its vomit-smelling seeds, to it’s
beautiful autumn display."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
