Tree bark fossil. This pattern, preserved in rock dating to the Lower Carboniferous Period (360-286 million years ago), is from the bark of the trunk

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Tree bark fossil. This pattern, preserved in rock dating to the Lower Carboniferous Period (360-286 million years ago), is from the bark of the trunk of a Lepidodendron sp. tree. These plants grew in swamps. The remains of the plants from this time form much of the coal reserves in the ground. This diamond-shaped pattern was typical of the bark on the upper part of the tree. These enormous trees grew to 30-40 metres in height. The only surviving relatives today are tiny mosses. The area seen is 11 centimetres wide.

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Size: 4753px × 3718px
Photo credit: © DIRK WIERSMA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: bark, botany, carboniferous, extinct, fossil, fossils, lepidodendron, lycopsid, marsh, palaeontology, paleontology, pattern, patterns, plant, plants, repeated, swamp, tree