The Virtual Petrified Wood Museum.  Dedicated to the Exhibition and Educational Study of Permineralized Plant Material
Home Button
Science Button
Students Button
Fossils Button
Time Button
Tectonics Button
Taxonomy Button
Anatomy Button
Links Button
Contact Button
Bibliography Button
Paleozoic Drop Down Menu
Mesozoic Drop Down Menu
Cenozoic Drop Down Menu
Osmunda Petioles & Roots
Osmunda Petiole and Root
The C-shaped xylem strand can be clearly seen in this petiole cross-section. A sclerotic ring of fibers encloses the xylem. Smaller root structures can be seen interspersed between the petiole cross-sections. A very colorful and well- preserved Osmunda specimen is pictured below. Both specimens are Jurassic in age and were collected in Australia.

Osmunda
Queensland, Australia

17 cm x 20 cm
The first close-up shows the center of the stem with a ring of xylem tissue. The center can be seen on the bottom edge of the above photo. This Osmunda stem must have been very large when alive. The second image shows a close-up of petiole cross-sections. Diamond-shaped stipular wings outline some of the petiole bases. The third image zooms in on a petiole base outlined with a stipular wing.
The next four images were taken with a Dino-Lite AD7013 MT 5.0 MP. Images were resized in Adobe Photoshop CS6. The images zoom in on the leaf petiole at 60x, 100x, 150x and 250x.
Osmunda Petiole with Stipular Wings
Osmunda Petiole
Osmunda Petiole Close-up
Osmunda Petiole Xylem Close-up
The petioles of this Osmunda specimen exhibit a variety of colors and preservation states. The images below were taken at 50x and 100x with a Dino-Lite AD7013 MT 5.0 MP. Images were resized in Adobe Photoshop CS6.
Osmunda Petiole and Root
Osmunda Petiole
 
 
 
 

©Copyright 2008 by Mike Viney| Website Use |