Redwood

Polished Disc of a Silicified Log
Sequoia sp.

Neogene: Miocene, approx. 16 Mio. years old
Central Oregon, USA

Redwood trees from the Cupressaceae family (Sequoia, Sequoiadendron and Metasequoia) are the largest plants living today, and even their fossil relatives already reached considerable sizes, as the trunk disc shown here clearly indicates. The diameter of the trunk is about 182 cm (the disc is 9 cm thick and weighs 450 kg) and, if you look closely, you can see about 250 annual rings, which means that the tree was at least 250 years old when it was embedded and finally silicified.

Loan
Original