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.
Marattioid ferns
Order Marattiales
Family Psaroniaceae
Fossil foliage (part) of the fern Crenulopteris acadica sp. from the Pennsylvanian of Kanakee County, Illinois (PRI 42681). Pinna (portion of a compound leaf). Marattioid fern (Order Marattiales, Family Psaroniaceae). Specimen is on display at the Museum of the Earth, Ithaca, New York. Length of specimen is approximately 16.5 cm.
Fossil foliage (counterpart) of the fern Crenulopteris acadica sp. from the Pennsylvanian of Kanakee County, Illinois (PRI 42681). Pinna (portion of a compound leaf). Marattioid fern (Order Marattiales, Family Psaroniaceae). Specimen is on display at the Museum of the Earth, Ithaca, New York. Length of specimen is approximately 16.5 cm.
Animation of fossil foliage (part and counterpart) of the fern Crenulopteris acadica from the Pennsylvanian of Kanakee County, Illinois (PRI 42681). Pinna (portion of a compound leaf). Marattioid fern (Order Marattiales, Family Psaroniaceae). Specimen is on display at the Museum of the Earth, Ithaca, New York. Length of specimen is approximately 16.5 cm.
Leptosporangiate ferns
Order Cyatheales
Family Temskyaceae
Section of fossil tree fern Tempskya wesselli from the Cretaceous of Idaho. Tempskya is in an extinct family of ferns, Tempskyaceae. Ferns cannot produce true wood. Instead, the “trunk” of Tempskya consists of multiple narrow stems (visible as circles on one face of this specimen) surrounded by roots. This specimen is from the paleobotanical collections of the School of Integrative Plant Sciences at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Longest dimension of specimen is approximately 8.5 cm.
Family Cyatheaceae or Dicksoniaceae
Portion of a stem of a modern tree fern (probably Cyatheaceae or Dicksoniaceae). Ferns cannot produce true wood. The M- and U-shaped structures are segments of the vascular cylinder, which is called a dictyostele. Each of the individual segments is known as a meristele. Specimen is from the Cornell University Paleobotanical Collection (CUPC), Ithaca, New York. Length of specimen is approximately 14.5 cm.