''Palmoxylon'' (petrified palmwood) is an extinct genus of

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...

named from

petrified wood Petrified wood (from Ancient Greek meaning 'rock' or 'stone'; literally 'wood turned into stone'), is the name given to a special type of ''fossilized wood'', the fossilized remains of terrestrial plant, terrestrial vegetation. ''Petrifaction ...

found around the world.

Fossil record

This genus is known in the fossil record from the

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cre ...

to the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

(from about 84.9 to 11.6 million years ago). Fossils of species within this genus have been found in Germany, Italy (Sardinia), United States, Egypt, Libya and Argentina ( Bororó and

Salamanca Formation The Salamanca Formation is a geologic formation in the Golfo San Jorge Basin of central Patagonia that yields well-preserved, well-dated fossils from the early Paleocene. Studies of these fossils are providing new data on plant and animal diversit ...

s).''Palmoxylon''
at

Fossilworks Fossilworks was a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database, a large relational database assembled by hundreds of paleontologists from around the world. History Fossilworks was cr ...

.org Many species were described from the

Deccan Traps The Deccan Traps are a large igneous province of west-central India (17–24°N, 73–74°E). They are one of the largest volcanic features on Earth, taking the form of a large shield volcano. They consist of many layers of solidified flood ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Distribution

A number of species from the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

and

Cenozoic The Cenozoic Era ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of mammals, insects, birds and angiosperms (flowering plants). It is the latest of three g ...

have been described from the

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

region of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

.Ottone E. G. 2007 "A new palm trunk from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina" '' Ameghiniana'' v.44 n.4 There have been a number of species reported from

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

which are dated to the

Late Eocene The Priabonian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age or the upper stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Eocene epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Series. It spans ...

and

Early Miocene The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages: the Aquitanian age, Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 annum, Ma to ...

.EL-Saadawi, W., Youssef, S. G. & Kamal-EL-Din, M. M. 2004 "Fossil palm woods of Egypt: II. Seven Tertiary Palmoxylon species new to the country" ''Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology'' 129(4):199-211 Specimens from the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

epoch (34 - 23 mya) can be collected from many scattered sites in east

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and western

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

s found near fossil palmwood include

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

sponge Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and a ...

s, and

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

s, indicating that the palms grew along prehistoric

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

es. For millions of years, the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

shoreline has been moving farther south. In Texas and Louisiana, petrified palmwood is most common in the Toledo Bend area, which is shared by both states. It was left by trees that grew when the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

's shoreline was much farther north from its present-day position. In Louisiana, petrified palmwood is found in the parishes of Rapides, Natchitoches, Grant, and Sabine.

Description

Petrified palmwood includes a group of fossil woods that contain prominent rod-like structures within the regular grain of the silicified wood. Depending upon the angle at which they are cut by fracture, these rod-like structures show up as spots, tapering rods, or continuous lines. The rod-like structures are

sclerenchyma The ground tissue of plants includes all tissues that are neither dermal nor vascular. It can be divided into three types based on the nature of the cell walls. This tissue system is present between the dermal tissue and forms the main bulk of th ...

bundles that comprise part of the woody tissues that gave the wood its vertical strength. Petrified palmwood is a favorite of rock collectors because it is replaced by

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...

and exhibits well-defined rod-like structures and variety of colors. As a result, it exhibits a wide range of colors and designs when cut that can be incorporated into

jewelry Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

and other ornamental items. Because it is composed of silica, it is hard enough to polish and withstand the wear and tear of normal use.

Archaeology

In Grant Parish, Louisiana (and probably in other areas also), Native Americans used petrified palmwood to make projectile points and other tools such as knives, awls, and scrapers. Projectile points and other tools crafted from petrified palmwood have been discovered in central Grant Parish by H.R. Hicks and other Native American artifact collectors. It is the state stone of Texas and the official

state fossil Most states in the US have designated a state fossil, many during the 1980s. It is common to designate a fossilized species, rather than a single specimen or a category of fossils. State fossils are distinct from other state emblems like state d ...

of Louisiana.State Fossils
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Species

There are more than 200 species assigned to the genus ''Palmoxylon'' at this time. *''Palmoxylon araneus'' Nour-El-Deen, El-Saadawi & Thomas, 2018 (Paleogene;

Jebel Qatrani Formation The Jebel Qatrani Formation (also Gebel Qatrani, Gabal Qatrani or Djebel Qatrani) is a geologic formation located in the Faiyum Governorate of central Egypt. It is exposed between the Jebel Qatrani escarpment and the Qasr el Sagha escarpment, nor ...

, Egypt) *''Palmoxylon arcotense'' *''Palmoxylon bhisiensis'' Dutta et al., 2007 (Cretaceous;

, India) *''Palmoxylon blandfordi''Schenk, 1882 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) *''Palmoxylon bororense'' *''Palmoxylon chhindwarense'' Prakash, 1960 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) *''Palmoxylon colei'' (Eocene;

Green River Formation The Green River Formation is an Eocene geologic formation that records the sedimentation in a group of intermountain lakes in three basins along the present-day Green River (Colorado River), Green River in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. The sedimen ...

, Eden Valley, Wyoming) *''Palmoxylon compactum'' *''Palmoxylon concordiense'' *''Palmoxylon contortum'' (Eocene;

, Eden Valley, Wyoming) *''Palmoxylon dakshinense'' Prakash, 1960 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) *''Palmoxylon deccanensis Sahni, 1964 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) *''Palmoxylon dilacunosum'' Ambwani, 1984 *''Palmoxylon edenense'' (Eocene;

, Eden Valley, Wyoming) *''Palmoxylon elsaadawii'' Nour-El-Deen, El-Saadawi & Thomas, 2018 (Paleogene; Jebel Qatrani Formation, Egypt) *''Palmoxylon eocenum'' Prakash, 1962 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) *''Palmoxylon geometricum'' *''Palmoxylon hislopi'' Rode, 1933 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) *''Palmoxylon indicum'' *''Palmoxylon kamalam''Rode, 1933 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) *''Palmoxylon lametaei'' (

Maastrichtian The Maastrichtian ( ) is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age (uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage) of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or Upper Cretaceous series (s ...

; Lameta Formation, Deccan Traps, India) *''Palmoxylon livistoniforme'' *''Palmoxylon livistonoides'' Prakash & Ambwani, 1980 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) *''Palmoxylon macginitiei'' (Eocene;

, Eden Valley, Wyoming) *''Palmoxylon mathuri'' Sahni, 1931 (Cretaceous, Gujarat, India) *''Palmoxylon parapaniensis'' Lakhanpal et al., 1979 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) *''Palmoxylon parthasarathyi'' Rao & Menon, 1964 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) * ''Palmoxylon patagonicum'' (Paleocene, Patagonia, Argentina) *''Palmoxylon pichaihuensis'' Ottone, 2007 (Danian, Pichaihue Limestones, Neuquén Province; Argentina) *''Palmoxylon pondicherriense'' *''Palmoxylon pyriforme'' *''Palmoxylon qatraniense'' Nour-El-Deen, El-Saadawi & Thomas, 2018 (Paleogene; Jebel Qatrani Formation, Egypt) *''Palmoxylon queenslandicum'' *''Palmoxylon rewahense'' *''Palmoxylon riograndense'' *''Palmoxylon rionegrense'' Ancibor, 1995 (Late Cretaceous, Allen Formation, Río Negro Province; Argentina) *''Palmoxylon sagari'' *''Palmoxylon santarosense'' Ancibor, 1995 (Late Cretaceous, Allen Formation, Río Negro Province; Argentina) *''Palmoxylon superbum'' Trivedi & Verma, 1971 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) *''Palmoxylon trachycarpeaeense'' Kumar & Khan in Kumar, Spicer & Khan, 2025 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) *''Palmoxylon valchetense'' Ancibor, 1995 (Late Cretaceous, Allen Formation, Río Negro Province; Argentina) *''Palmoxylon vaterum'' *''Palmoxylon wadai'' Sahni, 1931 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) *''Palmoxylon yuqueriense''

References

External links

Petrified Palm Wood (State Fossil) (Tertiary)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7128439 Coryphoideae Prehistoric angiosperm genera Santonian genus first appearances Late Cretaceous plants Paleocene plants Oligocene plants Eocene plants Miocene genus extinctions Prehistoric life of Africa Fossils of Egypt Prehistoric life of Asia Fossils of India Prehistoric life of Europe Fossils of Germany Prehistoric plants of North America Fossils of the United States Prehistoric plants of South America Riochican Paleogene Argentina Fossils of Argentina Fossil taxa described in 1882 Arecaceae genera Symbols of Texas Symbols of Louisiana