Callixylon Devonian Petrified Wood from a Transitional Plant

Description: This is a polished section of petrified wood known as Callixylon, coming from the Devonian deposits of Oklahoma. First named over a hundred years ago based on material from Russia, it was thought to possibly be from a fern that was found nearby known as Archaeopteris. It took some 60 years to demonstrate that both were indeed from the same plant, and that plant bears characteristics found in no extant type. It was established as a taxon that was transitional between the true gymnosperms and the ferns, and is one of the oldest types of wood known. The site is no longer open to collecting. This attractive piece of this distinctive wood is polished on one side.