In the Shade of the Tree That Remembers the Dinosaurs
<p>When I saw it, I decided my errands could wait. The tree seemed to glow in the middle of the field like a yellow flame, full of light. This is a plant whose unbroken lineage traces back to the days when those fan-shaped leaves shaded dinosaurs. I had to make a pilgrimage to the golden beacon of deep time.</p>
<p><em>Ginkgo biloba</em> is one of the oldest tree species in the world. The ginkgo family originated before dinosaurs took center stage. By the time the Cretaceous was coming to an end, the <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-4-431-68416-9_16" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">genus<em> Ginkgo </em></a>looked like the trees you might see planted in front of your municipal library. Ginkgos have persisted as entire clades of species have come and gone. The world has changed, mountains have risen, continents have shifted, and still we have ginkgo. </p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/@fossilfantasies/in-the-shade-of-the-tree-that-remembers-the-dinosaurs-aff0aaa94c7c"><strong>Read More</strong></a></p>