Phys.org has a story about the discovery of an amazingly preserved "tree" from New Brunswick, Canada. The fossils, which date to about 350 million years ago during the Mississippian Period, consist of multiple specimens with one preserving how the "leaves" were distributed in the crown of the tree. Usually, just the trunk of trees are fossilized in-situ, it is quite rare to see one preserved in such detail. Sanfordiacaulis densifolia was named for the quarry owner, Laurie Sanford. All the details can be found in the paper "Enigmatic fossil plants with three-dimensional, arborescent-growth architecture from the earliest Carboniferous of New Brunswick, Canada", which appeared in the journal Current Biology.
The fossils in question were preserved by earthquake-induced, catastrophic burial of trees and other vegetation along the margin of a rift lake. The first fossil tree was unearthed about seven years ago from a quarry, but it only included one partial sample. It took several years for another four specimens of the same plant, in close spatial proximity, to also be found, Gastaldo says.
One of the specimens revealed how the leaves departed from the top of the tree, which makes it "absolutely unique." It's one of only a few in a fossil record spanning more than 400 million years in which a trunk is preserved around which the crown leaves are still attached, the researchers say.
"Any fossil tree with an intact crown is a rarity in the history of life," Gastaldo says. "Having the crown leaves attached to a trunk, by itself, begs the questions what kind of plant is it, how is that plant organized, And is it some form that continues to the present, or is it outside of the 'normal' concept of a tree? All of these questions, and more, led to this multi-year endeavor."
If you prefer an audio experience, this discovery was covered in a segment of CBC Radio's "Quirks & Quarks".
An ancient tree’s crowning glory Paleontologists working in Norton, New Brunswick have made an extraordinary discovery: a fully intact 350 million year old fossilized tree unlike any previously known to science. Matt Stinson, the assistant curator of geology and paleontology at the New Brunswick Museum, says it’s extremely rare in the fossil record to find a fully intact tree like this one that has its trunk, branches and leaves still attached. Olivia King, a research associate at the museum, described it as “odd and whimsical,” like the trees from Dr. Seuss’s famous book The Lorax. Their study is in the journal Current Biology.
