Thehealersjournal, By: Admin, 05/21/2013

Ginkgo biloba is a “living fossil” as was stated by Charles Darwin (1959).  It is the oldest living tree species in the world.  The Ginkgo species dates all the way back to the Permian Period some 286 to 248 million years ago.  Ginkgos began increasing in number a great deal in the middle of the Jurassic Period through the Cretaceous Period approximately 213million to 66.4 million years ago. During this era of the first flowering plants and the height of the Dinosaurs, fossils revealed several different Ginkgo species.  These species were common and outspread in Asia, Europe, and America.  This era along with its incredible kingdom of plants and animals ended with complete extinction. 

Scientists had thought that Ginkgo, along with the rest of the prehistoric plants and animals, had too ceased to exist.  It was not until 1691 that Englebert Kaempfer (1651-1692), a German Physician and Botanist, made a most amazing discovery in China.  Ginkgo had somehow survived the devastating Ice Age, although it was not quite the same as its ancient ancestors.  Due to environmental changes, the ancient Ginkgo had evolved. Today, Ginkgo biloba is the only surviving member of the Ginkgo family.  This survival is said to be owed to its remarkable adaptability, resistance to disease, and to Buddhist monks who cultivated and preserved the trees on sacred grounds.