7" Sigillaria (Syringodendron) Trunk Section - West Virginia

This is a 7" long fossilized trunk section of Syringodendron, genus of extinct, spore-bearing, arborescent (tree-like) plants.. It was collected from a coal mine near Summersville, West Virginia and is Middle Pennsylvanian in age or approximately 307 million years old. The characteristic rib pattern of the genus is easily seen in this specimen. It has been heavily compressed and is around 5/8" thick in the center.

Sigillaria was a tree-like plant reaching a height up to 30 meters (100 feet) with a tall, single or occasionally forked trunk that lacked wood. Support came from a layer of closely packed leaf bases just below the surface of the trunk, while the center was filled with pith. The long, thin grasslike leaves were attached directly to the stem and grew in a spiral along the trunk. The old leaf bases expanded as the trunk grew in width, and left a diamond-shaped pattern, which is evident in fossils. These leaf scars were arranged in vertical rows. The trunk had photosynthetic tissue on the surface, meaning that it was probably green.

Sigillaria, like many ancient lycopods, had a relatively short life cycle - growing rapidly and reaching maturity in a few years. Some researchers have suggested that Sigillaria was monocarpic, meaning that it died after reproduction, though this is not proven. It was associated with Lepidodendron, the scale tree, in the Carboniferous coal swamps.