Fluorescent Silicified Cypress Wood

One of Delaware's many mysteries is the petrified wood found near Odessa and Smyrna. The general consensus is that is cypress wood of some kind and it was buried under Pleistocene sediments. However, the origin of the wood and the age have yet to be figured out. Some say Miocene. Others say as old as Cretaceous. There are no other co-occurring fossils in the deposit to give any clues.

The photo on the right was taken using a 395 nm UV lamp.