The History of Land Plants

Fossil and Natural Specimens from Display Case 2: When do we find the first trees?

The first forests, the evolution of wood

Scale: white + black square = 2 cm

           Callixylon newberryi, New Albany Shale,                                         Cross-section of wood

               Middle Devonian, Clark Co., Indiana                                               IUS Dept. of Biology Specimen

  From the collections of the Indiana State Museum

                                 and Historic Sites.

               Archaeopteris obtusa, Upper Devonian,                                        Araucarioxylon arizonicum, Chinle Formation,

                      Youngstown, New York                                                          Late Triassic, Winslow, Arizona

                         From a private collection                                    From the collections of the Children's Museum of Indianapolis

     Tsuga sp. - Hemlock wood slice, Miocene epoch,                     Quercus sp. - Oak wood slice, Miocene epoch    

                  Rattlesnake Hills, Washington                             Columbia River basalt, Deschutes River Canyon, Oregon  

Both of these specimens are from the collections of the Children's Museum of Indianapolis.

Invasion of Land

Seed Plant: Boldly Growing Where No Plant Has Grown Before 

Monster Plants That Created Coal  

Plants the Dinosaurs Ate 

Flowering Plants: The New Revolution