Plant Fossils
Plant remains are found usually as scattered logs and branches of wood that washed into the sea as driftwood. It was then compressed and blackened as it became carbonized. The wood then becomes lignite, a stage on the process of being turned into coal. Lignite is found in nearly all formations in south Jersey, both marine and non-marine. Often the wood has borings from the shipworm Teredo, a clam which would drill into driftwood for protection. The internal molds and even shell of the clams are sometimes preserved, still in their burrows. Unfortunately, preservation of lignite is very difficult, since it falls appart soon after drying.
Besides lignite, silicified wood is also found occassionally. It is usually found scattered in the beds of streams or reworked into Pleistocene age gravels. This makes dating difficult, though a large deposit was found in Miocene age sandpits in Gibbsboro, Camden County. Silicified wood is very durable, and can withstand tremendous amounts of weathering and reworking, unlike most other fossils.
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Silicified wood - Miocene, Kirkwood formation |
Fossil leaves are rare except for the Raritan formation, where they are found in abundance. Fossil flowers, amonst the oldest in the world, have been found by sieveing Raritan clay and viewing under an electron microscope. The oldest flower in amber was found by amateur fossil collectors recently, also in the Raritan formation.
See The Amber Room for more info on amber.
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Conifer branch -Turonian, Upper Cretaceous |
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Eucalyptus leaves - Turonian, Upper Cretaceous |
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