piranha Posted July 31, 2011 Author Share Posted July 31, 2011 Neat. Platanus? Thanks! Yes, Platanus condoni. Plus Pinus knowltoni among a few other bits and pieces. Named after the legends of Paleobotany. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Nice detail on those larger leaves, Scott. Are these about the same age as the others you've posted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted July 31, 2011 Author Share Posted July 31, 2011 Nice detail on those larger leaves, Scott. Are these about the same age as the others you've posted? Thanks for the feedback and great question Eric. I should have provided more precise data. The plants numbered 52, 53, 56, are from a late Oligocene flora ~27 Mya. The others are a little older at ~31 Mya. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeoJon Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Thank you for the comments guys! There are at least 20 plant layers in the vicinity of this horizon of the Little Butte Volcanic Series. I would say those have a span top to bottom of around 100 feet give or take. What is remarkable are the layers of ash, basalt and tuff in between the many plant deposits. Narrowing it down to any specific band of plant bearing strata on average 2-4 feet thick and full of dense leaf compressions throughout. When I moved to Oregon the focus was squarely on the fossils, now the geology and volcanic events of the Oligocene have the spotlight and my full attention as well. Never a dull moment, that's for sure! Little Butte...Is that in the Clarno, or the John Day formation? Sweet stuff, by the way. Oligocene floras from here in Washington state are almost impossibly rare. You should post your other oligocene finds. I'd be interested in seeing them. -GeoJon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted July 31, 2011 Author Share Posted July 31, 2011 Little Butte...Is that in the Clarno, or the John Day formation? Sweet stuff, by the way. Oligocene floras from here in Washington state are almost impossibly rare. You should post your other oligocene finds. I'd be interested in seeing them. -GeoJon Thanks Jon, the Little Butte Volcanics are a catch-all for a handful of Oligocene-Miocene floras in west-central Oregon. There are literally dozens of Clarno and John Day Eocene-Oligocene formations in east-central Oregon. The volcanics played a major role in preserving these floras and as a result there is a series of Clarno and John Day Volcanics as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted August 8, 2011 Author Share Posted August 8, 2011 Here is my best ever plant fossil find. Yesterday yielded a nice plump Florissantia speirii. As most of you know, flowers are quite rare in the fossil record. The glassy silicified chert that this split pair is preserved in makes it jump off the matrix with sharply detailed features. At just over 1-1/2 inches this is close to maximum size for the taxon. As with other plants from this particular flora, the matrix is a dark purple color when split and turns light within moments as the water content quickly evaporates. Yesterday was flower day as I also found a large Hydrangea that I will post later this week along with a few other nifty items. The crown jewel of all of my collecting efforts to date deserves to be showcased all by itself. Enjoy! Florissantia speirii Little Butte Volcanic Series Oligocene, North-Central Oregon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Here is my best ever plant fossil find.... Simply superb! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Very nice Scott! PL Here is my best ever plant fossil find. Yesterday yielded a nice plump Florissantia speirii. As most of you know, flowers are quite rare in the fossil record. The glassy silicified chert that this split pair is preserved in makes it jump off the matrix with sharply detailed features. At just over 1-1/2 inches this is close to maximum size for the taxon. As with other plants from this particular flora, the matrix is a dark purple color when split and turns light within moments as the water content quickly evaporates. Yesterday was flower day as I also found a large Hydrangea that I will post later this week along with a few other nifty items. The crown jewel of all of my collecting efforts to date deserves to be showcased all by itself. Enjoy! Florissantia speirii Little Butte Volcanic Series Oligocene, North-Central Oregon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astron Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Here is my best ever plant fossil find. Yesterday yielded a nice plump Florissantia speirii. As most of you know, flowers are quite rare in the fossil record. The glassy silicified chert that this split pair is preserved in makes it jump off the matrix with sharply detailed features. At just over 1-1/2 inches this is close to maximum size for the taxon. As with other plants from this particular flora, the matrix is a dark purple color when split and turns light within moments as the water content quickly evaporates. Yesterday was flower day as I also found a large Hydrangea that I will post later this week along with a few other nifty items. The crown jewel of all of my collecting efforts to date deserves to be showcased all by itself. Enjoy! Florissantia speirii Little Butte Volcanic Series Oligocene, North-Central Oregon Incredibly perfect, Scott :wub: It seems living on the snow It deserves the gold medal . Congratulations Astrinos P. Damianakis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted August 8, 2011 Author Share Posted August 8, 2011 Chas, Peter, Astrinos - Thanks! The difficult and dusty trail was worth it. After discovering this fantastic flower fossil, the bar is set much higher. Next time I will have to find one associated with a few Ginkgo leaves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 ...Next time I will have to find one associated with a few Ginkgo leaves. Or held tenderly in the beak of an undescribed Oligocene Honeycreeper! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Looks like you are having a great summer Scott! The thrills of discovery is very enduring ... good hunting on your fossil Quest.... Just like I am having fun at Arkona in the Devonian era... in search for vertebrates... PL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdevey Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Here is my best ever plant fossil find. Yesterday yielded a nice plump Florissantia speirii. As most of you know, flowers are quite rare in the fossil record. The glassy silicified chert that this split pair is preserved in makes it jump off the matrix with sharply detailed features. At just over 1-1/2 inches this is close to maximum size for the taxon. As with other plants from this particular flora, the matrix is a dark purple color when split and turns light within moments as the water content quickly evaporates. Yesterday was flower day as I also found a large Hydrangea that I will post later this week along with a few other nifty items. The crown jewel of all of my collecting efforts to date deserves to be showcased all by itself. Enjoy! Florissantia speirii Little Butte Volcanic Series Oligocene, North-Central Oregon Spectacular find Scott!, Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Or held tenderly in the beak of an undescribed Oligocene Honeycreeper! Why not - Dare to dream. Wow, Scott, that one is top notch! Keep looking, maybe there will be more so you can make a trade with me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted August 9, 2011 Author Share Posted August 9, 2011 Chas, if I find any bird fossils you will be the first person notified at TFF. Oligocene bird bones described from Oregon include a Colymbus (grebe), a Larus (gull), a Limicolavis (surfbird), a Phalacrocorax (cormorant), and a Phasianus (pheasant). There are Eocene eggs and many Miocene Aves occurrences as well, although it will be a while before I can work myself up or down from my present perch. I'd be thrilled with a feather but an articulated skeleton would certainly be a stunning discovery. That one will fly directly to the paleo department at UO-Condon. I'm on it! Peter, Bob, Eric, Thanks for the fantastic flower-power feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 For a change of pace here are three tables of Oligocene flora from Oregon. Although the images are not as sharply focused as could be achieved with a close-up shot, I thought it would be interesting to show a few collection displays today. The reference of scale in the first photo: the larger piece of Platanus is 14 inches at the widest. In the middle photo the large plant plate is 17 inches across and the last photo the large trilobites are just shy of 6 inches. I have officially reached max capacity! Thanks for looking and enjoying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astron Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 For a change of pace here are three tables of Oligocene flora from Oregon. Although the images are not as sharply focused as could be achieved with a close-up shot, I thought it would be interesting to show a few collection displays today. The reference of scale in the first photo: the larger piece of Platanus is 14 inches at the widest. In the middle photo the large plant plate is 17 inches across and the last photo the large trilobites are just shy of 6 inches. I have officially reached max capacity! Thanks for looking and enjoying! That's a thrilling part of your unique self built Oregon plant collection, Scott :wub: I didn't know that the menu includes and awesome trilobites This gold is magic. I like also the way the giant platanus has embraced the dwarf its fellow ... and all the rest Congratulations Astrinos P. Damianakis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 (edited) You've been busy, Scott! Nice stuff. What are you doing with it all? I'd like to know because I have the same capacity problem.... That dark fern in mid-right (opposite the trilo) looks Carboniferous! I didn't know Platanus got that large until I started seeing large ones here on TFF. Here's my complete ?Platanus sp. from my local Santonian (~8.5cm long): Edited August 11, 2011 by Wrangellian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 Arrestingly handsome mosaics, Scott! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xonenine Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 Here is my best ever plant fossil find. Yesterday yielded a nice plump Florissantia speirii. As most of you know, flowers are quite rare in the fossil record. The glassy silicified chert that this split pair is preserved in makes it jump off the matrix with sharply detailed features. At just over 1-1/2 inches this is close to maximum size for the taxon. As with other plants from this particular flora, the matrix is a dark purple color when split and turns light within moments as the water content quickly evaporates. Yesterday was flower day as I also found a large Hydrangea that I will post later this week along with a few other nifty items. The crown jewel of all of my collecting efforts to date deserves to be showcased all by itself. Enjoy! Florissantia speirii Little Butte Volcanic Series Oligocene, North-Central Oregon Congratulations, thats a beauty! "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...
piranha Posted August 11, 2011 Author Share Posted August 11, 2011 Good eye on the fern Eric. That one is from the early Cretaceous of Oregon although it certainly has a Carboniferous look to it. The bulk of these Oligocene fossils are in storage bins and have been promised to the UO-Condon Collection. Carmine thanks for posting the flower fossil again. I never get tired of looking at that one. This weekend I will post a report from the Fossil Fest at the Rice Museum in Hillsboro. If anyone from TFF is planning on attending send me a PM. Looks like a great time. As always, thank you guys for the nice comments! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Early Cretaceous, hmmm.. Maybe you could start a new thread for that stuff if you have more of it.. would like to see it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 Great thread and plants Scott @piranha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted June 2, 2018 Author Share Posted June 2, 2018 47 minutes ago, Nimravis said: Great thread and plants Scott @piranha Thanks! My how time flies. I started this thread 7 years ago. I found an old error that I corrected in another thread, but overlooked it here. This clover-shaped fossil with the ID of Hydrangea sp. was later corrected by Steve Manchester as a Sequoia-type infructescence. I subsequently collected and posted this Hydrangea florissantia in my overall collection thread, so now I will add it here as well. Sequoia-type infructescence Hydrangea florissantia 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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