SiS: GEMMY Australian OSMUNDA Petrified Fern Slab - DETAIL
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:44332476 |
This is a particularly dark but complete cross section from one of the more fascinating and gemmy petrified wood fossils you'll find. The Osmunda specimens found in Australia have really finely detailed growth structure that is rivaled only by things like the fossil cones of Argentina in terms of gemmy structural preservation in a fine, intricate growth pattern. It has a very regular shape and all of the key structures are present in this one to say that it is a f...ull cross section including the nicely centered pith. Here's the latest petrified wood collector treasure straight from the Sticks-in-Stones Rockshop and it's one of the darkest pieces we've ever offered! This stone is a colorful and finely detailed version of a particularly rare and collectible fossil fern from Australia. The flower like pattern you see in the center of the stone is the pith (heart) of the plant. All of the structure is clear and well formed in this gorgeous stone (though it takes good light to bring out the detail in the very dark agate) including the petiole cross sections in the outer portion of the highly polished slab. This fossil is as rare as it is beautiful and easily one of the more colorful and faithfully preserved specimens of this rare variety of gem grade plant fossils that you're liable to come by! This is a smaller diameter, more colorful than average slab that's polished on the display face. Why pay a fortune for a lesser specimen when you can add a beauty like this to your collection with our best in the business, no-compromises finish?! This fairly complete cross section has some of the best color you'll see in one of these gemmy specimens too! We continue to scour the globe in search of the finest petrified wood and gem fossil treasures and our latest efforts have produced some of the best preserved fossil ferns in the world! This exquisitely preserved fossil comes from Australia. It is from the family Osmundaceae which includes over 150 extinct species, most of them from the southern hemisphere and an amazingly high number of those are found in various deposits in Australia. I've been researching identifying attributes of these fossils, but am not yet to a point where I can provide a reasonable attempt at an identification. I can say that the curly-Q shape of the leaf bases in this one is a strong clue. I've seen a fair number of these specimens recently, but none with this kind of color and detail! The pith of the plant (bottom center) is preserved in high contrast colors in the beautiful cut that revealed all the other detail in this magnificent fossil treasure!! This particular fossil is so well agatized it's just amazing. I only know of a couple of places that produce wood this well preserved and the first one that comes to mind when you see these pieces is Roger Mountain wood found here in Oregon. It's a solid piece of agate that took a wonderful polish that allows you to study every detail in the xylem that cover the surface of this mirror perfect ancient treasure. The cell structure is very visible and easily seen through a 10x loup. As I learn more about the fossils and their correct origin, I'll share the details, but in the mean time you can rest assured that it's a top grade specimen at a reasonable price with an unmatched finish! We've selected only the best specimens to prepare and bring to market and can guarantee each piece has been prepared with the same care and attention to detail that I put into the ones that remain in my own collection. This exceptional specimen is about 3 7/8" wide across the mirror polished face. It's about 3/8" thick. Weight is about 0.26 lb. It's really a wonderful piece, but what else would you expect from Sticks-in-Stones?!! eBay's original rockshop! Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary is happily providing UPS shipping to greatly reduce shipping charges on large rock orders. We will combine all of your purchases from our shop to bring you the greatest possible value in fine Lapidary & stone collectibles!
