The Ginkgoaceae is a family of gymnosperms which appeared during the Mesozoic Era, of which the only extant representative is Ginkgo biloba, which is for this reason sometimes regarded as a living fossil. Formerly, however, there were several other genera and forests of ginkgo existed. Because leaves can take such diverse forms within a single species, these are a poor measure of diversity, but wood structure points to the existence of diverse ginkgo forests in ancient times.
