Giant cladoxylopsid trees resolve the enigma of the Earth’s earliest forest stumps at Gilboa (original) (raw)

Nature volume 446, pages 904–907 (2007) Cite this article

Abstract

The evolution of trees of modern size growing together in forests fundamentally changed terrestrial ecosystems1,2,3. The oldest trees are often thought to be of latest Devonian age (about 380–360 Myr old) as indicated by the widespread occurrence of Archaeopteris (Progymnospermopsida)4. Late Middle Devonian fossil tree stumps, rooted and still in life position, discovered in the 1870s from Gilboa, New York5, and later named Eospermatopteris, are widely cited as evidence of the Earth’s ‘oldest forest’6,7. However, their affinities and significance have proved to be elusive because the aerial portion of the plant has been unknown until now. Here we report spectacular specimens from Schoharie County, New York, showing an intact crown belonging to the cladoxylopsid Wattieza (Pseudosporochnales)8 and its attachment to Eospermatopteris trunk and base. This evidence allows the reconstruction of a tall (at least 8 m), tree-fern-like plant with a trunk bearing large branches in longitudinal ranks. The branches were probably abscised as frond-like modules. Lower portions of the trunk show longitudinal carbonaceous strands typical of Eospermatopteris, and a flat bottom with many small anchoring roots. These specimens provide new insight into Earth’s earliest trees and forest ecosystems. The tree-fern-like morphology described here is the oldest example so far of an evolutionarily recurrent arborescent body plan within vascular plants. Given their modular construction, these plants probably produced abundant litter, indicating the potential for significant terrestrial carbon accumulation and a detritus-based arthropod fauna by the Middle Devonian period.

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Figure 1: Wattieza Stockmans from South Mountain, New York, NYSM 17039.

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Figure 2: Large trunk and reconstruction of plant from South Mountain, New York.

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Figure 3: Trunk top and base of Wattieza Stockmans from South Mountain, New York; details of the large trunk specimen, NYSM 17040.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support was provided by the New York State Museum.

Author Contributions L.V.H. and F.M. were responsible for initial discovery, field work and museum curation, E.L. for geological interpretation, W.E.S. and C.M.B. for palaeobotanical interpretation, F.M. for drawing the reconstruction in Fig. 2, and W.E.S. for writing the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York 13902-6000, USA,
    William E. Stein
  2. New York State Museum, Albany, New York 12230, USA,
    Frank Mannolini, Linda VanAller Hernick & Ed Landing
  3. School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3YE, UK,
    Christopher M. Berry

Authors

  1. William E. Stein
  2. Frank Mannolini
  3. Linda VanAller Hernick
  4. Ed Landing
  5. Christopher M. Berry

Corresponding authors

Correspondence toWilliam E. Stein or Christopher M. Berry.

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Reprints and permissions information is available at www.nature.com/reprints. The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Stein, W., Mannolini, F., Hernick, L. et al. Giant cladoxylopsid trees resolve the enigma of the Earth’s earliest forest stumps at Gilboa.Nature 446, 904–907 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05705

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Editorial Summary

Forest stump is crowned

The evolution of the tree habit was fundamental to the Earth's terrestrial ecosystem. The earliest known evidence for forests consists of fossil tree stumps, about 385 million years old, from Gilboa in Upstate New York. These have been known since the 1870s and named 'Eospermatopteris'. But in the absence of the aerial portions of these trees, the affinities and significance of these stumps has remained unknown. Stein et al. now describe a spectacular tacular fossil tree from Schoharie County, New York, showing for the first time an intact crown belonging to a previously known plant type called Wattieza, attached to an Eospermatopteris trunk and base. This complete fossil of a tree-like fern provides the evidence needed for a detailed reconstruction of the appearance of the world's earliest forests.

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