This virtual collection was last curated by Elizabeth Hermsen and Jonathan Hendricks on August 16, 2019. Each model is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Unless otherwise indicated, each model was created by Emily Hauf using specimens at the Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, New York.
Order Equisetales
Family Calamitaceae (large, extinct horsetails)
Foliage
Fossil foliage of the horsetail (Equisetophyte) Annularia stellata preserved in a concretion from the Pennsylvanian of the Mazon Creek area of northeastern Illinois (PRI T-1762). Note the whorls of leaves around the branch. Annularia is one of the foliage taxa for extinct, tree-size horsetails (Calamitaceae). Specimen is from the teaching collection of the Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, New York. Length of surrounding rock is approximately 15 cm.
Fossil specimen of the horsetail Asterophyllites sp. from the Pennsylvanian Tonganoxie Sandstone of Franklin County, Kansas (PRI 50619). Note the whorls of leaves around the branches. Asterophyllites is one of the foliage taxa for extinct, tree-size horsetails (Calamitaceae). Specimen is on display at the Museum of the Earth, Ithaca, New York. Length of specimen is approximately 16.5 cm.
Fossil of the horsetail (equisetophyte) Asterophyllites equisetiformis from the Pennsylvanian of Franklin Co., Kansas (PRI 49838). Note the whorls of leaves around the branches. Asterophyllites is one of the foliage taxa for extinct, tree-size horsetails (Calamitaceae). Specimen is on display at the Museum of the Earth, Ithaca, New York. Length of rock is approximately 9.5 cm.
Stems and Rhizomes
Fossil specimen of a stem base of the horsetail (Equisetophytes) Calamites suckowi from the Pennsylvanian of Pennsylvania (PRI 50479). Note the characteristic nodes (horizontal lines) and internodal ribs (vertical lines). Specimen is on display at the Museum of the Earth, Ithaca, New York. Length of fossil is approximately 21.5 cm.
Fossil stem base of the horsetail (Equisetophyte) Calamites sp. from the Carboniferous of Illinois. Note the characteristic nodes (horizontal rings) and internodal ribs (vertical lines). Specimen is from the Cornell University Paleobotanical Collection (CUPC), Ithaca, New York. Length of specimen is approximately 21.5 cm.
Portion of a fossil stem of the horsetail (Equisetophyte) Calamites sp. from the Carboniferous of Illinois. Note the nodes (horizontal bands) and internodal ribs (vertical lines). Specimen is from the Cornell University Paleobotanical Collection (CUPC), Ithaca, New York. Length of specimen is approximately 14 cm.
Cones
Fossil specimen of the cone of the horsetail Palaeostachya from the Pennsylvanian of Columbia County, Pennsylvania. This is a cone produced by a large, extinct horsetail (Calamitaceae). Specimen is from the Cornell University Paleobotanical Collection (CUPC), Ithaca, New York (#1464). Length of specimen is approximately 15 cm.