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FERNS
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ILLINOIS
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| EXTINCTIONS CHOICE - Large Asterophyllites |
| Stock Number FRFMC47 |
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Name:
Asterophyllites equisetiformis
Age: Pennsylvanian
Formation: Carbondale Formation
Location: Braidwood, Illinois
Size: Concretion is 5.5 inches long
In the Pennsylvanian swamps of Mazon Creek, Illinois, a gigantic rush-like plant named Calamites grew up to fifty feet tall. The leaves of the plant were always borne in whorls, entirely surrounding the slender branches. Because of their characteristic appearance, specimens such as this one were called fossil ''asters'' by the coal miners.
This specimen, Asterophyllites equisetiformis, is a large example of those leaves. The fossil is preserved in a siderite concretion, and both halves (part and counterpart) of the concretion are present. Three HUGE whorls of leaves are beautifully preserved and nearly completely intact. The individual, linear leaves are quite distinct. The white plant fossil contrasts beautifully with the brown concretion. This is a very large and displayable specimen of Asterophyllites from an old Mazon Creek collection.
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