This is a gorgeous authentic fossil Tree Fern Pinna (leaves that make up a frond) and a Cyperites leaf from the Pennsylvanian of the infamous Mazon Creek outcrop of Illinois! It has great preservation on both halves on the concretion and zero repair or restoration! The fern measures 1.5 inches (3.81 cm) and the Cyperites measures 2 inches (5.08 cm)! A beautiful addition to any fossil collection!
Mazon Creek is a fossil site located in Illinois that dates to about 300 million years ago! It is world renowned for fossils of things that usually decompose quickly, like fern fronds, worms, jellyfish, and other soft tissue preserved in ironstone concretions in exquisite detail!
Ferns are one of the oldest groups of plants. They reproduce via spores instead of seeds like most other plants. The first ferns appeared on Earth 360 million years ago! Tree ferns are ferns with a trunk as their base like a tree. The tree ferns of Mazon Creek could grow to 30 feet in height!
Cyperites is the name given to the leaves of giant Club Mosses that lived 300 million years ago. Modern club-mosses are small vascular plants that resemble little trees with small simple leaves called microphylls (leaves with only a single vein). 300 million years ago however the club-moss reigned supreme forming enormous trees and massive forests. Some of these club moss trees could grow to over 150 feet! Their leaves also had only a single vein but were much larger than their modern equivalent. The remains of these forests would go on to form deposits of coal, vital to the development of the modern world!
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Species: Tree Fern and Cyperites
Size: fern measures 1.5 inches (3.81 cm) and the Cyperites measures 2 inches (5.08 cm)
Found: Mazon Creek outcrop of Illinois
Age: 300 million years old
Repair: None