References: Whetstone in FNA (1993).
Ginkgo Linnaeus (Ginkgo, Maidenhair Tree)* Ginkgo biloba Linnaeus, Ginkgo, Maidenhair Tree. Pd (NC): frequently planted, rarely escaped to suburban woodlands and yards; rare, native to se. China. As pointed out by Whetstone in FNA (1993), Ginkgo is only weakly naturalized. Ginkgo is famous as a "living fossil," known from fossils nearly 200 million years old which are nearly identical to modern plants. It may be extinct in the wild. [= C, FNA, K]
Flora of the Carolinas and Virginia, Working Draft of 1 January 1997 -- Gymnosperm Key. Alan S. Weakley. The Nature Conservancy, Southeast Regional Office, Southern Conservation Science Department.