The image shows the center of a polished slice of a petrified tree from the late Triassic period (approximately 230 million years ago) found in Arizona. The remains of insects can be detected in an enlarged image.

Petrified wood (from the Greek root petro meaning "rock" or "stone"; literally "wood turned into stone") is the name given to a special type of fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. It is the result of a tree or tree-like plants having completely transitioned to stone by the process of permineralization. All the organic materials have been replaced with minerals (mostly a silicate, such as quartz), while retaining the original structure of the stem tissue. Unlike other types of fossils which are typically impressions or compressions, petrified wood is a three-dimensional representation of the original organic material. The petrifaction process occurs underground, when wood becomes buried under sediment and is initially preserved due to a lack of oxygen which inhibits aerobic decomposition. Mineral-laden water flowing through the sediment deposits minerals in the plant's cells; as the plant's lignin and cellulose decay, a stone mould forms in its place. The organic matter needs to become petrified before it decomposes completely. A forest where such material has petrified becomes known as a petrified forest. Read more ...

The Fossil Forest is the remains of an ancient forest from Jurassic times, located to the east of Lulworth Cove on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England. It lies on the Jurassic Coast, on a wide ledge in the seaside cliff. The site is within the Lulworth Ranges and thus has restricted access. Parts of forest can also be seen on the Isle of Portland and in quarries near the town of Weymouth to the west. Read more ...

The highest sea cliffs in England have been hiding the oldest fossilized forest yet found on planet Earth. The long-lost ecosystem's palm-like trees, called Calamophytons, are 390 million years old   Science Alert - March 17, 2024

That's roughly three or four million years older than the previous record holder, found across the Atlantic in New York State. In southwest England, the red sandstone rock face where scientists found the imprints of logs, roots, and twigs was once considered "barren of trace fossils". Recent investigations, however, have found the site actually provides a wonderful cross-section of life in the Devonian Period - a time when plummeting sea levels pulled back the ocean to create two massive continents known as Gondwana and Euramerica.

Fossilized forest unearthed in the UK is the oldest ever found at 390 million years old   Live Science - March 4, 2024

Fossilized trees discovered by chance in southwest England belong to Earth's earliest-known forest, new research has found. The 390 million-year-old fossils supplant the Gilboa fossil forest in New York state, which dates back 386 million years, as the world's oldest known forest. The new discovery highlights differences between the two ecosystems, suggesting forests went from being relatively primitive to well established over the course of just a few million years

Exquisitely Preserved Fossil Forest Uncovered in Japan   Science Alert - July 25, 2023

A beautifully preserved fossil forest uncovered on a river bank in Japan has been described in detail for the first time. The rare site takes scientists one step closer to reconstructing an entire Eurasian plant from the late Miocene epoch, and filling in one of the many gaps in the botanical tree of life.

Fossils of Leaves in Borneo Reveal an Ancient 4 Million-Year-Old Forest   Science Alert - May 4, 2022

Leaf fossils on Borneo have been studied in detail for the first time, say researchers, revealing that the rainforests that cover the surface of the island have been in place and fostering biodiversity for at least 4 million years.

Oldest pine fossils reveal fiery past   Science Daily - March 10, 2016
The oldest fossils of the familiar pine tree that dominates Northern Hemisphere forests today has been found by researchers. The 140-million-year-old fossils (dating from the Cretaceous 'Age of the Dinosaurs') are exquisitely preserved as charcoal, the result of burning in wildfires. Scientists have found the oldest fossils of the familiar pine tree that dominates Northern Hemisphere forests today. Scientists from the Department of Earth Sciences at Royal Holloway, University of London have found the oldest fossils of the familiar pine tree that dominates Northern Hemisphere forests today. The 140-million-year-old fossils (dating from the Cretaceous 'Age of the Dinosaurs') are exquisitely preserved as charcoal, the result of burning in wildfires. The fossils suggest that pines co-evolved with fire at a time when oxygen levels in the atmosphere were much higher and forests were especially flammable.

Fossils of Dinosaur-Era Forest Fire Discovered in Canada   Live Science - June 6, 2014

In the badlands of southern Saskatchewan, Canada, scientists discovered evidence of a 66-million-year-old forest fire locked in stone. Fossilized plants found on top of the layers of ancient charcoal show that forests bounced back from wildfires during the last days of the dinosaurs much like they do today, the new study found. Dry, treeless grasslands cover much of southern Saskatchewan today, but 66 million years ago, the region was covered in swampy, lowland forests. It was perhaps six times rainier and 18-26 degrees Fahrenheit (10-12 degrees Celsius) warmer than it is today, the researchers said. The area may have resembled North America's Pacific Coast, with forest canopies dominated by towering sequoias and a diversity of smaller plants growing closer to the ground.

180 million-year-old fossilized fern nearly identical to modern relative   PhysOrg - March 21, 2014

A trio of researchers in Sweden has unearthed a fossilized fern that has been dated to 180 million years ago, that remarkably, is in near pristine condition. The calcified stem of a royal fern dating back to the early Jurassic period was apparently preserved by mineral precipitation from hydrothermal brines as they rapidly crystalized, trapping the fern, which was clearly alive at the time, encasing it in an airtight environment. Although very small (just 5.8 x 4.1 cm) the fossil was so well preserved that the researchers were still able to make out cell cytoplasm, nuclei and even chromosomes.

Iconic Australasian trees found as fossils in South America   PhysOrg - January 9, 2014
Today in Australia they call it Kauri, in Asia they call it Dammar, and in South America it does not exist at all unless planted there; but 52 million years ago the giant coniferous evergreen tree known to botanists as Agathis thrived in the Patagonian region of Argentina, according to an international team of paleobotanists, who have found numerous fossilized remains there. These spectacular fossils reveal that Agathis is old and had a huge range that no one knew about from Australia to South America across Antarctica.

Giant Vines & Towering Trees: Ancient Forest Unearthed   Live Science - February 29, 2012

One of the earliest forests in the world was home to towering palmlike trees and woody plants that crept along the ground like vines, a new fossil find reveals. The forest, which stood in what is now Gilboa, N.Y., was first unearthed in a quarry in the 1920s. But now, a new construction project has revealed for the first time the forest floor as it stood 380 million years ago in the Devonian period.

Team reveals oldest fossilized forest   PhysOrg - February 29, 2012

An international team, including a Cardiff University researcher, who previously found evidence of the Earth's earliest tree, has gone one step further. The research team has now unearthed and investigated an entire fossil forest dating back 385 million years.

Forests and Trees