ginkgo family

8.9

A group of ancient seed plants with only one living species

noun
/ˈɡɪŋkoʊ ˈfæmɪli/

Specialized

: familia de ginkgo

Most members of the ginkgo family are extinct, leaving Ginkgo biloba as the sole survivor.

Examples

Fossils from the ginkgo family have been discovered in rock layers dating back millions of years.
The ginkgo family includes both living and extinct species.
The ginkgo family is notable for having only a single living species, Ginkgo biloba.
Many scientists study the ginkgo family for its unique characteristics.
Fossils from the ginkgo family have been discovered in rock layers dating back millions of years.
Most members of the ginkgo family are extinct, leaving Ginkgo biloba as the sole survivor.
The ginkgo family is notable for having only a single living species, Ginkgo biloba.

Synonyms

family Ginkgoaceae

vsginkgo family

Specialized

9.9

A group of seed plants including the living ginkgo tree and extinct relatives

has identical meaning but states belonging rather than constituting the order

Ginkgoaceae

vsginkgo family

Specialized

9.9

A family of plants that includes the ginkgo tree

has identical meaning but uses a different phrasing to state membership

Surface Forms

ginkgo family singular

ginkgo families plural

Morphology

ginkgo + family

The meaning is directly compositional: 'ginkgo' names the plant/genus and 'family' denotes a taxonomic grouping, so 'ginkgo family' straightforwardly means the family of plants related to ginkgo. The '[X] family' construction is a common, cross-linguistic scientific pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Ginkgo family comes from thinking of the tree Ginkgo and its plant family, like a family of relatives, many known only from fossils. So, because most relatives are extinct and only Ginkgo biloba is alive today, Ginkgo family means 'a group of related plants' with a single living species.