Tietea singularis
Pteridophyta; Psaroniaceae
Geological Time: Lower Permian (~ 280 million years ago)
Size: Fossil is 120 mm by 80 mm, 7 mm thick
Fossil Site: Motuca Formation, Filadelfia County, Tocantins , Brazil
Code: TUS19-18
Price: Sold
 Description:
Sections of tree fern trunks are highly prized for their beauty. Tree
ferns have been around since the Late Carboniferous, and persist to
this day, earning them the term “living fossil”. While
specimens were available some 20 years ago in Tucson, fewer and fewer
have become available in recent years since the establishment of a
national park in 2000. Now material from this site is only available
from old collections such as the one a stumbled across this year.
The “trunk” is composed of many vascular elements that
supply the plant with water and nourishment, making for a most pleasing
overall effect. This is an essentially complete trunk section which
shows the adventitious roots of the fern in great detail. It has been
polished to show off the interior to best advantage. The vascular
strand of a young plant would divide, and adventitious roots would
then surround the stem to provide support, allowing additional stems
to grow alongside. Members of the genus lived in wet environments
as well as ground subject to periodic drying. They flourished into
the Permian, to become extinct in the later Permian when the climate
became too hot and dry in many places for it to exist. |
