Wrangellian Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 This is not a great photo, it was taken after sunset at the site of discovery, and it's a bit dirty. I still need to trim the huge chunk and wash it off, and it now sits in a spot with poor lighting, so this is the best I can do for now, but maybe someone who knows Cretaceous flora can suggest an ID for these leaves based on the general outline? The one on the right especially has 3 clear lobes, and note the stems. Platanus? I have never found this type before, in 9 years of collecting up there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 Those are pretty cool little leaves and a great find! -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...
Wrangellian Posted September 19, 2017 Author Share Posted September 19, 2017 Thanks Dave, Yes it is things like this that keep me going up there after all these years - still finding new things. You should have seen me horsing it out of the pile and loading it into my baby buggy which couldn't really accommodate it, and I had to hold it up with one hand while propelling it with the other, down the hill to the car. (It would not have been possible if it had to go uphill.) It was the only way I could see to get it home without risking breaking it by trimming it down further with hammer/chisel, or going home for a wheelbarrow but it was already getting dark at this time and for all I knew the workers would be back up there the following day (Mon) and it could have been destroyed before I got back to retrieve it. As it turns out, I would have had more time, but you never know and you have to strike while the iron is hot, as I did with my recent crinoid find at the same pile. What we do for fossils.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 Very nice find......perhaps they are Sassafras? "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted September 19, 2017 Author Share Posted September 19, 2017 Thanks... That would be interesting as Sassafras has not been found here (as far as I know). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 The leaf structure matches a "Chinese Parasol tree", Firmiana simplex. But that is an extant species. Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 Hmm, what neat finds! congrats!. Can you get a clear pic of the veination...they do look like Acer/Platanus (Maple/Sycamore) family to me. Let me look around at some stuff...My brain just aint what it used to be. What formation are we talking about? Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 Somehow missd this. Awesome find, Eric! ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 Eric, Forgot to ask...what part of the Cretaceous? do we know? Is this very early Cretaceous? Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted September 20, 2017 Author Share Posted September 20, 2017 Sorry, I assume too much: Santonian Haslam Fm. It is such a big chunk of rock I dread moving it outside into the sunlight for a better pic of the venation, but it might still be hard to see/photograph, at least until I wash it a bit, but that will have to come after I've trimmed it down which requires renting the saw again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 Well the other day I finally got around to rinsing the dust off this piece. I trimmed it a couple months ago. Looks pretty good, I'd say... Looks just as good wet, but I still wouldn't want to coat it with anything to give it that effect, it's going to remain as is. There is some venation visible and that might help with an ID (if and when I get an expert to look closely at it). Dry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 I wish there were some way to x-ray a chunk before breaking or slicing into it - Unfortunately I sliced through something while trimming, probably a Uintacrinus! Too bad. Strange thing is I'm pretty sure I broke apart all the waste pieces but I don't remember seeing anything that would match this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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