RARE FOSSIL PALM STAMEN. ...

Description

RARE FOSSIL PALM STAMEN
Sabalites sp.
Eocene
Green River Formation, Lincoln Co., Wyoming, USA
The aesthetic beauty, first-class preservation, and remarkable biodiversity of fossils found in the Green River Formation of Wyoming mark it as one of the premier localities in the world. Most famed for its fish, the area is also notable for its flora, soft material that in most other parts of the world have decomposed long before having a chance to be preserved in the fossil record. Palms are exceptionally scarce even here, and highly prized by collectors, but rarer still are the stalk-like stamen of the Sabalites Palm. This is the pollen producing, male reproductive organ of the plant, preserved here in superb detail, like a tall, branching stalk, called a spikelet, the stamen extending with tendrils. It came from a large tree, and is preserved in a lovely pale orange color, It is joined in the creamy limestone matrix by the shadowy remains of a small Knightia, familiar inhabitants of the subtropical lake system, and at 72 x 24 inches, stabilized with a wooden frame on the reverse, it makes for a large, dramatic, and highly unusual display piece, of a soothing, natural beauty.

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