Question

Which one of the following is called a living fossil?
a) Pinus roxburghii
b) Ginkgo biloba
c) Dalbergia sissoo
d) Mirabilis jalapa

Answer 1

Hint: It is commonly known as the maidenhair tree which is a herb and is used in various traditional medicines especially in the regions surrounding China and is characterized by their leaf shape.

Complete answer
Ginkgo biloba is also called ginkgo or gingko. It is the only living species present in the division Ginkgophyta while all the other species have become extinct. It is also called the living fossil. Ginkgo is present very few in number, they are now endangered species.

Additional information
-Ginkgo biloba is a species native to China.
-They are very old species that have some fossil records of around 279 million years ago.
-It is found that the tree has been cultivated widely in the early period and even now.
-The tree has medicinal importance along with the supplements of food.
-The trees are large, having roots that are deeply embedded in the soil to protect the tree from wind and snow.
-They are long-lived due to the presence of deep roots and aerial roots. Some species are as old as around 2,500 years old.
-The leaves of this tree are unique having a fan-shaped structure with veins radiating out into the leaf blade sometimes splitting it.
-The leaves yellow or saffron colour during the autumn season.

So, the correct answer is ‘Ginkgo biloba'.

Note: The word is ginkgo is derived from the Chinese word. The spelling of ginkgo was first introduced by Engelbert Kaempfer in his book. It was earlier considered to be misspelt “Ginkjo” as “Ginkgo”. This misspelling was included by Carl Linnaeus in his book which was later accepted as the tree’s name.