5 Red Fossil Leaves on Rock (3 species) - Montana

This is an association of five leaves from the Fort Union Formation of Montana. The color of the rock and the leaves is rather unusual, and different than most of the leaves seen from the Fort Union Formation. They were collected from a locality where a fire in a nearby coal seam "cooked" the rock at sometime in the past. This changed the color and gave it a chalky texture. There are three separate species of leaves.

Leaf identification by #:

#12 - Aesculus hickeyi (Hickory leaf) - Originally named Carya antiquorum
#24 - Rhamnites cleburnii - Originally named Rhamnus sp.
#37 - Macginitiea nobilis (3-Lobed leaf) - Originally named Platanus nobilis

There are some areas of restoration on the surface of the leaves, where there was some flaking onto the negative.