piranha Posted May 23, 2011 Author Share Posted May 23, 2011 One last fossil plant from this weekend and more will be forthcoming soon as the collecting season continues to unfold. This one is also from an undisclosed location (sorry Dave!)of the Oligocene of central Oregon. This is a wonderful part and counterpart of Halesia oregona and is differentiated from the more common Alnus carpinoides by its distinctive crenulate margin. Thanks to all for the nice comments! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palaeopix Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 (edited) Hey Scott, great to see that your collecting season has started with a bang! Are you capitalizing on your newly acquired paleontological buddies from the university? I wish you all the best luck, collecting, as the season unfolds!! Unfortunately my season is on hold again because of work, though I did hit the Eocene White Lake Formation today, briefly and came home with a handful of Metasequoia cones. Looks like it's going to be difficult to top this year's earlier finds of insects and feathers!!!!! Anyway, it's awesome to see the wonderful fossil flora of Oregon. Dan Edited May 23, 2011 by palaeopix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted May 23, 2011 Author Share Posted May 23, 2011 Thanks Dan- nothing as dramatic as your feathers and insects.... yet! Haha- it is more like all of my friends are the ones capitalizing actually. About 90% of what I have found is going out as gifts. A few special pieces will only be high-graded as I have no room really for additional fossils to be displayed. If I do discover feathers, insects or anything rare for that matter, I have already promised that they would be accessioned to the university collections. If I really hit the jackpot hopefully there will be dozens-- I would like a fossil feather in my cap too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted May 23, 2011 Author Share Posted May 23, 2011 Changing things up from the Oligocene of Oregon as today will feature a few late Eocene plants from the Goshen Flora described back in the 1930's by two legends of Oregon paleobotany, Ethel Sanborn and Ralph Chaney. The flora is from one of a handful of localities and part of the non-marine Fisher Formation. This horizon is dated at ~34.85-33.7 Mya and the species found at Goshen are thought to be the latest Eocene index species of a "Goshen-type" paleobotanical biozone. The first fossil is unusual and like a puzzle block of matrix. There are three pieces of matrix with two leaves part and counterpart of Meliosma goshenensis. The biggest block has two leaves on it with one actually sideways at a 90 degree angle to the one next to it. I did my best to illustrate how all of the pieces stitch together side by side then top and bottom. There is no bedding plane per se as the leaves are typically jumbled together representing the turbidity of extremely heavy mud-flows and storm events. Complete specimens of Goshen plants are far and few between. For comparison is a large Laurophyllum merrilli that I purchased from PzF shortly before moving to Oregon in early 2010. Unfortunately highway projects and decades of collecting have rendered this site totally unproductive for any new material to be discovered. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Scott, Lots of beautiful plants here. Thanks for posting them. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 beautiful, they look like masterful water-color paintings When I split this one open last night it reminded me of Carmine's comment. Thanks again to all who are enjoying this thread. Ancient Natural Canvas: Flora Hash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xonenine Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 (edited) :Bananasaur: wow! thats all I can come up with for this one!:Bananasaur: Edited May 25, 2011 by xonenine "Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 It's as though you found them on the bottom of the lake all those years ago. -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astron Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 When I split this one open last night it reminded me of Carmine's comment. Thanks again to all who are enjoying this thread. Ancient Natural Canvas: Flora Hash Fascinating synthesis Thanks for posting so this as the previous plant beauties, Scott Fine and Carmine's artistic representation Astrinos P. Damianakis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 Thanks guys and especially to Carmine for the latest cool wallpaper !! In appreciation how about three more slabs to add to the mix? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Very nice Scott! I wonder under the mats of vegatation there are littles insects trapped and co fossilized on same plate : ) PL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted May 27, 2011 Author Share Posted May 27, 2011 More fossil flora from the Oligocene forest of central Oregon. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xonenine Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 (edited) Thanks Scott, those booked pieces are amazing - It looks like alot of work goes into this, picking the stones, drying, splitting, trimming, what tools are you using to shape the edges, if any? Edited May 27, 2011 by xonenine "Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 There will be more leaves.... many more! The giant slabs are slowly dehumidifying in the workshop. Millions of years in the making it is almost unbearable waiting them out wondering what will be revealed. That is part of the fun of it though and as additional collecting trips are completed I will have enough rocks to split well through summer and fall. The major difference this year making sure to set aside plenty to keep me busy during the rainy season (winter) months. Thanks everyone for the nice comments! That is a very good idea. I plan to hunt one of my favorite creeks just to pick up nodules for future freeze/thaw for this winter.. I like planning ahead ... That leaf is an amazing fossil! Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted May 28, 2011 Author Share Posted May 28, 2011 Thanks Scott, those booked pieces are amazing - It looks like alot of work goes into this, picking the stones, drying, splitting, trimming, what tools are you using to shape the edges, if any? That is a very good idea. I plan to hunt one of my favorite creeks just to pick up nodules for future freeze/thaw for this winter.. I like planning ahead ... That leaf is an amazing fossil! Thanks Carmine and Roz! There is no trimming with a rock saw. I dislike cut edges so I have become skilled at tapping out incongruities along the matrix edges with the Estwing. Other than that they are all displayed as they split and usually requiring little else than a toothbrush to clean off any lingering dirt. The process is laborious taking a month or longer from field collection to final product. Aside from the grunt work of hauling the slabs and countless hours of hammer strikes, the photography and post processing of digital images are equally important that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy these beautiful plants for the first time in 30 million years. Haha.... the most difficult part is cleaning up the mess in the workshop when done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 (edited) Hi Scott: You are doing a fine job with the fossil prep. Would a dehumidifier assist in the dehumidifying process ie accelerate the dessication rate and cutting the wait time ?... only danger ... , perhaps the rate of dehumidification is proportion to the stress gradients that can lead to premature cracking of the matrix and specimen... analogous to slow drying process of green body clay (to minimize cracking) prior to firing in a kiln.... there is quite an art in prepping these wonderful fossils.... guess you have turned your workshop into a large humidor Looks like you are having fun . Peter Edited May 28, 2011 by pleecan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted May 28, 2011 Author Share Posted May 28, 2011 Thanks Peter, The rocks always let you know when they are ready to go. The first batch of the season requires extra patience waiting for them to dry out. After a few collection trips are tallied that is less of an issue as there is plenty to keep busy with. It's definitely an art form getting the stubborn slabs split open nicely. Although I never tire of the thrill of the next find of the day, the best part is inviting others to be more curious about Oregon's fabulous fossil floras as well. That reminds me of a promise from late last year for a contest for Oligocene plants. I had initially intended for it to be in the spring but we had an extended rainy season this year. Since summer is now around the corner I'd like to aim for an early fall fossil flora extravaganza at TFF. Stay tuned for details! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted May 28, 2011 Author Share Posted May 28, 2011 Greetings everyone and hope you are all finding fantastic fossils this weekend. Here is another superb part and counterpart of central Oregon Oligocene flora from the Little Butte Volcanic Series dated at ~31 Mya. Aside from the lovely aesthetic quality and large size at 16 x 8 inches, at the center there is a remarkably rare example of Cunninghamia chaneyi. Today the distribution of the modern China Fir is exclusive to Asia and regarded as the most "primitive" surviving member of the Cupressaceae. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted May 29, 2011 Author Share Posted May 29, 2011 A sampling of Sunday Oligocene fossil flora. Two nice split pair leaves and a classic Alnus carpinoides cone. Enjoy everyone! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 The leaves look very much like water color paintings and the pine cone looks super cool! PL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 The leaves look very much like water color paintings and the pine cone looks super cool! PL The cone is from a deciduous tree (birch). They are like works of art- Thanks Peter! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palaeopix Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Wow Scott, you're getting some really great specimens from your Oligocene site(s)! I really love this Betula cone. I've seen examples from McAbee but I haven't collected any, yet, from the Allenby Formation around Princeton (or McAbee for that matter)! This is a fabulous piece too!!!!! :thumbsu: :wub: Is it me or am I seeing a gastropod circled in blue and some sort of fruiting body circled in red?! Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astron Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 A sampling of Sunday Oligocene fossil flora. Two nice split pair leaves and a classic Alnus carpinoides cone. Enjoy everyone! Fantastic, Scott :wub: I think they are of the best Astrinos P. Damianakis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 Thanks Dan and Astrinos! Yes and no on your questions Dan- definitely not a gastropod circled in blue, just a fragment of flora that is distorted somewhat. The object circled in red is indeed a fruiting body- probably of Halesia oregona, and the first one that I have found to date. Attached are photos of another more common type, Pyrus oregonensis with a recent discovery of an incredible uncrushed and inflated 3D example. Extra credit points earned for noticing! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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