Ginkgophyta

The Ginkgoaceae are 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, although differing structures of wood point to the existence of diverse ginkgo forests in ancient times.

Ginkgoales are a gymnosperm order containing only one extant species: Ginkgo biloba, the ginkgo tree. The order has a long fossil record extending back to the Early Permian around 300 million years ago from fossils found worldwide. The order was a common component of Permian and Triassic flora before the super dominance of conifers.

Baiera is a genus of prehistoric gymnosperms in the order Ginkgoales. It is one of the oldest fossil foliage types of Ginkgoales, and is related to the genera Ginkgo and Ginkgoites. Fossils of Baiera are found worldwide, and have been known from the Permian to the Cretaceous.

Ginkgoites is a genus of extinct plants belonging to Ginkgoaceae. Fossils of these plants have been found around the globe during the Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, with fossils also known from the Paleogene. The name was created as a form genus in 1919 by Albert Seward, who stated: "I... propose to employ the name Ginkgoites for leaves that it is believed belong either to plants generically identical with Ginkgo or to very closely allied types."

Ginkgoopsida is a proposed class of gymnosperms defined by Sergei V. Meyen in 1984 to encompass Ginkgoales (which contains the living Ginkgo) alongside a number of extinct seed plant groups, which he considered to be closely related based on similarities of morphology of pollen, seeds, cuticles, short shoots and leaves. The validity of this group as a whole has been considered questionable by other authors, who consider that it is unlikely to be monophyletic. Other authors have used the class as a monotypic grouping, including only Ginkgoales. Some authors have used the clade Ginkgophyta to en

Sphenobaiera is a form genus for plant leaves belonging to the order Ginkgoales found in rocks from Triassic to Cretaceous periods. The genus Sphenobaiera is used for plants with wedge-shaped leaves that can be distinguished from Ginkgo, Ginkgoites and Baiera by the lack of a petiole. It became extinct about . The family to which this genus belongs has not been conclusively established; an affinity with the Karkeniaceae has been suggested on morphological grounds.

Cheirophyllum is an extinct plant genus that existed during the Permian.

Chiropteris is an extinct genus of plants that existed from the Early Permian (Sakmarian stage) to the Late Jurassic (?Oxfordian stage, maybe latter).

Umaltolepis is an extinct genus of seed plant, known from the Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous of Asia. Within the form classification system used within paleobotany, it refers to the seed-bearing reproductive structures, which grew on woody plants with strap-shaped Ginkgo-like leaves assigned to the genus Pseudotorellia.

Baieroxylon is an extinct prehistoric genus of plants belonging to the Ginkgoaceae family during the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods.