6.7" Cretaceous Tree Fern (Tempskya) - Idaho

This comes out out of an old collection of petrified wood we recently purchased that includes a lot of pieces from unusual and/or no longer accessible locations. Keep an eye out for more rare pieces coming in the future.

Tempskya is a genus of extinct tree ferns from the Late Cretaceous. They were small to medium tree ferns, growing up to 15 feet (4.5 meters). Their trunks were what are known as false trunks: they were made up of a number of individual stems and petioles growing between adventitious roots. This gives the petrified specimens unique oval and circular patterns.

What Is Petrified Wood

Petrified wood is the name given to wood that has been turned into stone (fossilized) through the process of permineralization. In this process, all of the organic matter becomes replaced by minerals, while much of the original structure, such as tree rings, is retained. For this to happen, the wood needs to be buried in an environment low in oxygen to prevent decomposition and with flowing, mineral-laden water, so minerals may replace structures. The coloration is caused by various minerals that present in that water during fossilization. For example, red colors are due to iron compounds, greens due to copper, and so on.