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Fossil Grove
The trees of Fossil Grove were discovered during the creation of Victoria Park,
Glasgow in 1887. The area had formerly been a whinstone (dolerite)
quarry and on excavation of the quarry floor to create a path through
the park, the fossilised tree stumps were discovered. The authorities
of the day thankfully chose to excavate the trees, shelter them from the
weather and make them available for future generations to view, in what
was one of the earliest acts of geoconservation. Fossil Grove is one of
the most famous in-situ
Carboniferous forest examples in the world.
There are eleven trees at the site, with the tallest stump reaching 68cm in
height. Each is an internal mould, cast from sediment infilling the toughened
bark that remained after the softer, inner plant tissue rotted following the
trees' death. When the trees were first discovered, carbonaceous material formed
from the bark itself also existed, but this has sadly decomposed in the following
years.
The trees were lycopods (probably Lepidodendron) and exhibit both
the base of the stem and the rooting system, Stigmaria. They stand
in shale, though were buried by siltstone and sandstone, indicating an
influx of sediment caused by long term flooding of the area. Shale is
then seen to overlie the siltstones/sandstones; this is typical of the
cyclic nature of Scottish Carboniferous sedimentary sequences. This particular
sequence occurs in the lower part of the Limestone Coal Group and is Namurian
in age (approximately 325 - 315 millions of years ago).
Fossil Grove in Glasgow's Victoria Park - fossil
tree stumps in their original position of growth. The original height
of the trees has been estimated at 30m. © Scottish Natural Heritage.
Fossil Grove is operated by Glasgow City Council's department
of Land and Environmental Services. For opening times, visit their website
http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/.
Further reading:
Cleal, C.J. & Thomas, B.A. 1995. Palaeozoic Palaeobotany of Great
Britain, Geological Conservation Review, Series No. 9. Joint Nature
Conservation Committee, Peterborough, 295 pp.
Lawson, J.D. & Weedon, D.S. 1992. Geological Excursions around Glasgow
& Girvan. Geological Society of Glasgow.
MacFadyen, C.C.J. & Gordon, J.E. 2006. Glasgow and Ayrshire -
A Landscape Fashioned by Geology. Produced by: Scottish Natural Heritage
& British Geological Survey.
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