350-Million-Year-Old Tree Fossil Unveils Early Forest Complexity

The discovery of a rare tree fossil with a unique crown shape challenges previous understandings of early forest ecosystems.

A rare 350-million-year-old tree fossil, Sanfordiacaulis densifolia, discovered in Canada, offers a unique glimpse into the early Mississippian forest structure.
The fossil, preserved in 3-D, reveals a tree with a slender trunk and a wide, spiraling crown of leaves, suggesting a complex, layered forest ecosystem.
Researchers believe this tree represents the earliest known evidence of a subcanopy tree, indicating more biodiversity and a varied forest architecture than previously understood.
The discovery fills a significant gap in our understanding of plant evolution and forest ecosystems during the early Carboniferous period.
This finding challenges previous notions of early forest structures and highlights the experimental nature of plant evolution during this era.