[2] Ginkgo cranei is represented by a group of fossil specimens from the Upper Paleocene aged Sentinel Butte Formation exposed near the town of Almont, North Dakota.

[2] The paratype, number PP34187, along with one additional specimen, are part of the geology collections maintained at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois.

The chosen specific name cranei was in honor of Sir Peter Crane who, with Steven Manchester and David Dilcher, first discovered the Almont Ginkgo fossils.

[2] G. cranei ovulate organs are noted for the presence of distinct epidermal cells that have thick, dome-like periclinal walls.

Both the size and cell structuring is different from the living Ginkgo biloba ovulate organs, which are larger at 30 by 20 millimetres (1.18 by 0.79 in) and have less bulging periclinal walls.