Scale Tree Root

Object/Artifact

-

Crater Rock Museum

Name/Title

Scale Tree Root

Entry/Object ID

07.58.81

Description

Chemical Composition: Si O2 Crystal System: Anhedral Description: Genus: Lepidodendron Common name: Scale Tree Age: Late Pennsylvanian 300 mya Location data: This either from the eastern or mid-west part of the USA's coal bearing regions Description: A brown sand cast of a lepidodendron root , a flattened piece Size: 6.750"x 5.250"x 2.00" Type of Fossils Present: Plants Fracture: conchoidal Grain Size: Fine Hardness: 7 Quartz Luster: Silky Occurrence: Lepidodendron likely lived in the wettest parts of the coal swamps that existed during the Carboniferous period. They grew in dense stands, likely having as many as 1000 to 2000 giant clubmosses per hectare. This would have been possible because they did not branch until fully grown, and would have spent much of their lives as unbranched poles. In its juvenile stages, the trunk was supported by grass-like leaves that grew straight out of the trunk. Pressure: Low-Moderate Rock Color: Medium Rock Origin: Marine/Freshwater Rock Type: Sedimentary Specific Gravity: 2.6 Surface Process: Not apparent Streak: white Temperature: Low Texture: Fine grain texture Variety: Lepidodendron (also known as the "Scale tree") is an extinct genus of primitive, vascular, arborescent (tree-like) plant related to the Lycopsids (club mosses). They sometimes reached heights of over 30 m, and the trunks were often over 1 m in diameter, and thrived during the Carboniferous period. The closely packed diamond-shaped leaf scars left on the trunk and stems as the plant grew provide some of the most interesting and common fossils in Carboniferous shales and accompanying coal deposits. These fossils look much like tire tracks or alligator skin.

Collection

Petrified Wood Collection

Acquisition

Accession

07.58

Source or Donor

Petrified Wood Collection

Acquisition Method

Donation

Other Names and Numbers

Other Number

Other Number: 2007.58.81

Dimensions

Width

5-1/4 in

Depth

2 in

Length

6-3/4 in

Dimension Notes

Dimension taken at widest points

Location

Location

Shelf

bottom right, bottom right

Wall

right - east

Room

Wood room

Building

Mentzer Hall - Petrified Wood Room

Category

Permanent

Moved By

Catherine Boyd

Date

May 7, 2008

Location

Container

Center

Drawer

Bottom / Back Row

Shelf

Left

Cabinet

Case #102

Wall

East Wall

Building

Mentzer Hall - Petrified Wood Room

Category

Permanent