Name/Title
Royal FernEntry/Object ID
78.58.245Description
Assemblage Zone: sedimentary
Chemical Composition: Si O2
Crystal System: Hexagonal
Description: Family: Osmundaceae
Genus: Osmunda
Species: Oregonensis
Common name: Royal Fern
Age: Eocene
Location data: Columbia River Basalt Group, Clarno Formation, John Day, Oregon, USA
Description: Delmar describes this specimen as a petrified fern (osmundites, oregonensis) from John Day, Oregon. Polished side shows black eyes, in grey brown and opal colored wood. Delmar believed this specimen was probably from the Jurassic period, mesozoic era.
(Doug Foster later identifies this specimen as being from Antelope, Oregon in the Clarno Formation, during the eocene epoch.)
Size: 3.00"x 1.750"x 1.250"
Type of Fossils Present: Plants
Grain Size: Fine
Hardness: 7 Quartz
Lithofacies: flood basalts
Luster: Glassy
Occurrence: Silicified wood, which is the fossilization and opalization of organic woody matter by the deposation of SiO2 in a anaerobic environment to prevent decay. This means that the wood must somehow be buried in an oxygen free enviroment, possibly in the silt-laden river or the bottom of a lake or buried by volcanic ash.
Pressure: Low-Moderate
Rock Color: Medium
Rock Origin: Terrestrial
Rock Type: Sedimentary
Specific Gravity: 2.6
Surface Process: Not apparent
Temperature: Low
Texture: microcrystalline
Variety: Petrified woods here are hydrous microcrystalline variety of quartz that can be generally termed as chalcedony or opal.Collection
Petrified Wood CollectionAcquisition
Accession
78.58Source or Donor
Delmar Smith Petrified Wood CollectionAcquisition Method
DonationOther Names and Numbers
Other Number
Other Number: 1978.58.245Dimensions
Width
1-3/4 inDepth
1-1/4 inLength
3 inDimension Notes
Dimensions taken at widest pointsLocation
Location
Display Case
PW-8Room
Petrified Wood RoomBuilding
Crater Rock MuseumCategory
ExhibitMoved By
Jillian Mather KettleyDate
May 28, 2025Notes
Location update