A RARE FOSSIL PALM STAMEN

A RARE FOSSIL PALM STAMEN

Sabalites sp.

Eocene

Green River Formation, Lincoln Co., Wyoming, USA

Complete specimen measures 22 x 73 inches (55.9 x 185.4 cm) and comes framed with a wood frame.

The Green River Formation is famous for its first-class preservation, and remarkable biodiversity of fossils which mark it as one of the premier fossil localities in the world.

Most famed for its fish, the area is also notable for its flora, soft material that in most other parts of the world have decomposed long before having a chance to be preserved in the fossil record. Palms are exceptionally scarce even here, and highly prized by collectors, but rarer still are the stalk-like stamen of the Sabalites Palm. Stamens are the pollen producing, male reproductive organ of the plant, preserved here in superb detail. The present specimen was quarried from the F-1 Horizon (18-inch layer) of the Green River Formation and was skillfully prepared exposing the delicate tendrils, which are the fine, finger-like leaves extending from the main branching stalk.

Very aesthetic and extremely rare.

PROVENANCE

Bonhams, New York, June 1, 2009 (lot 1033)

Private Florida collection from 2009 till the present.