Wattieza
Wattieza is the earliest known tree.[1]
| Wattieza Temporal range: Middle Devonian
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| Genus: | Wattieza Stockmans
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Their fossils were found in New York State. They stood 8 m (34 ft) or more tall, and looked like the modern tree ferns.[2]
They lived in the mid-Devonian, about 385 million years ago. They were cladoxylopsids, close relatives of modern ferns and horsetails.
The crown of Wattieza, discovered in 2005, was united with its root and trunk, known since 1870. The fossilized grove of "Gilboa stumps" had been described as Eospermatopteris, though the complete plant remained unknown.
Wattieza had fronds rather than leaves,[3] and reproduced with spores.[2]
Wattieza Media
Example of Wattieza casasii found in Campo Chico Formation (middle Devonian), Perija range, Venezuela.
Wattieza sp. (= Eospermatopteris) tree trunk fragment fossil from the Devonian of Gilboa, New York. New York State Museum, Albany, NY
References
- ↑ "Michelle Carr, Cosmos 2007. Wattieza is world's oldest tree". Archived from the original on 2007-05-27. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Stein W.E. et al 2007. "Giant cladoxylopsid trees resolve the enigma of the Earth's earliest forest stumps at Gilboa", Nature 446:904-907.
- ↑ Meyer-Berthaud B. & Decombeix A.L. 2007 (2007). "Palaeobotany: A tree without leaves". Nature. 446 (7138): 861–862. arXiv:0704.2554. Bibcode:2007Natur.446..861M. doi:10.1038/446861a. PMID 17443169. S2CID 4324196.
- CNN.com: Oldest tree had fronds, not leaves.