Common Fossil Plants of Western North America

About this book

First published in 1975, this second edition has been completely revised and expanded to include more than 350 new or modified illustrations, an outline key, an amplified glossary, and discussion of 79 additional genera of compressional and petrified material. An informative hands-on guide, it will aid any fossil collector identify and assess the significance of their finds. Introductory chapters describe the types of plant preservation and outline the development of such groups as ferns, fern allies, and seed plants including cycads, gingkos, conifers, and flowering plants. Generic accounts include brief characterizations; one or more line drawings; lists of formations in which the fossil plant occurs; and, in some, discussions of the ecological conditions under which the plant may have grown. A table of more than 100 localities from British Columbia to northern New Mexico and from California as far east as South Dakota lists the period and epoch in which each site's fossils probably originated. Because fossil plants are found worldwide, the book can be used in many areas other than the western United States.

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