Carboniferous flora identification

[ntloux]

I am a retired PhD environmental interface chemist who is also a lifelong fossil enthusiast after growing up in Cincinnati.  I have some carboniferous plant fossils for which I would appreciate suggestions from those more knowledgeable than me.  Photo1 is from Mazon Creek, IL.  The leaves appear to not have a central rib and are arranged in a spray.  The leaf in the upper left is interesting.  These leaves are nothing like the lepidostrobus ovatifolius  in Photo 2 or the lepidodendron "cone" in Photo 3 (both from Kentucky).  They also appear to be too big for sigillarius leaves.  Is it likely these are cordaites leaves?  Photo 4 is a Pennsylvanian fossil from Kentucky that has sphenophylem leaf on the reverse.  Is it a lycopod or possibly a cordaites fossil?  Photo 5 is of a fossil collected by a coal miner in Pennsylvania; he though it looked like a tire track.  It has no leaf scars and there appears to be a slight rectangular tiling on the fossil.  Is this possibly inner bark or sigillarius bark?  Photo 6 is from the Carboniferous in Oklahoma.  It has a high iron content.  Photo 7 demonstrates that it apparently grew in layers ~5 mm thick.  One opinion suggests that it is lycopod bark.  Any other suggestions.

 

Constructive comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

#1

 

 

 

#2

 

 

 

#3

 

 

 

#4

 

 

 

# 5

 

 

 

# 6

 

 

 

#7

 

[Mark Kmiecik]

Hi, and welcome to the forum. I'm not the best at this, so wait for others to confirm or refute:

 

1. ?Cordaites sp.

2. Lepidostrobophyllum majus?

3. Lepidostrobus sp.?

4. Decorticated wood

5. Wood? Never saw anything similar.

6. Lepidodendron sp.

7. ?Cyperites bicarinatus -- small fragment of leaf.

 

Could you please number your photos? Your descriptions and the sequence of photos don't seem to match? I went with the order in which they appear here.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 14 by Mark Kmiecik
fix typo

[ntloux]

Mark, Thank you for the reply.  In the future I will try to number them. 

The 1st photo is possibly a spray of cordaites leaves from Mazon Creek. 

Photo 2 is a KY lepidodendron spore body (lepidostrobus ovatifolius- ID'd by the vendor). 

Photo number 3 is a KY lepidodendron "cone" (ID'd by the vendor). 

Photo 4 is an unknown KY fossil with an unshown spehnophylem on the back (the closest that I have come to IDing it that is has some slight similarities with a calamite but it  very much differs from my other calamites-- note the elongated diamond-like impressions on the bedrock),

Photo 5 is an unknown trunk fossil found in Pennsylvania by a miner and

Photo's 6 and 7 are unknown bark samples from the carboniferous in Oklahoma.  One opinion on these fossils is that they are lycopod bark.  I have attached the two PDF files for which identification is available.

Lepidostrobus_ovatifolius.pdf lepidodendron_cone_KY.pdf

[Fossildude19]

@fiddlehead

[Rockwood]

1 - Cordiates leaves.

5 - Sigillaria cortex

7 - We really need a better look at.