3D model of a large, coalified fossil lycopsid plant stem (NHMW-GEO-2024/0188/11069)

<p>This is a 3D model of a part of a fossil stem of a giant lycopsid plant from the coal fields of Czechia, which formed during the Carboniferous Period (359–299 million years ago).&nbsp;Lycopsids are related to ferns, so they produce spores rather than seeds. Today, lycopsids are all very small plants, inhabiting moist areas of forest understoreys. But, during the Carboniferous Period, lycopsids were the largest trees on the planet, with some growing more than 40 m tall!&nbsp;This particular fossil is&nbsp;<i>Sigillaria elongata</i>, which represents the fossil stems of large lycopsid trees. The outer surface of the trunk consists of parallel ridges, each of which had a series of small elongated, oval or diamond-shaped leaf scars, each marking the point where a leaf had once attached.</p><p>This object is part of the historical ‘Ettingshausen collection’, which is on permanent loan from the Institute of Biology, University of Graz.&nbsp;</p>