Editing Palmoxylon

{{Short description|Extinct genus of palms}}
{{automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = [[Late Cretaceous]]-[[Early Miocene]]<br>~{{fossil range|84.9|11.6}}
| image = Petrified-Forest-Chemnitz4.JPG
| image_caption = ''Palmoxylon'' sp. wood round
| taxon = Palmoxylon
| authority = [[August Schenk|Schenk]], 1882
| subdivision_ranks = Species 
| subdivision = See text
}}

'''''Palmoxylon''''' (petrified palmwood) is an extinct genus of [[Arecaceae|palm]] named from [[petrified wood]] found around the world.

== Fossil record ==
This genus is known in the fossil record from the [[Late Cretaceous]] to the [[Miocene]] (from about 84.9 to 11.6 million years ago). Fossils of species within this genus have been found in Germany, Italy (Sardinia), United States, Egypt, Libya and Argentina ([[Bororó Formation|Bororó]] and [[Salamanca Formation]]s).<ref name=FWPalmoxylon>[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=189486 ''Palmoxylon''] at [[Fossilworks]].org</ref> Many species were described from the [[Deccan Traps]] in [[India]].{{cn|date=October 2019}}

== Distribution ==
A number of species from the [[Cretaceous]] and [[Cenozoic]] have been described from the [[Patagonia]] region of [[South America]].<ref name="Ottone">Ottone E. G. 2007 "A new palm trunk from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina" ''[[Ameghiniana]]'' v.44 n.4</ref>  There have been a number of species reported from [[Egypt]] which are dated to the [[Eocene|Late Eocene]] and [[miocene|Early Miocene]].<ref name="Egypt">EL-Saadawi, W., Youssef, S. G. & Kamal-EL-Din, M. M. 2004 "Fossil palm woods of Egypt: II. Seven Tertiary Palmoxylon species new to the country" ''Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology'' '''129'''(4):199-211</ref>

Specimens from the [[Oligocene]] epoch (34 - 23 [[Mya (unit)|mya]]) can be collected from many scattered sites in east [[Texas]] and western [[Louisiana]]. [[Fossil]]s found near fossil palmwood include [[coral]]s, [[sea sponge|sponge]]s, and [[mollusk]]s, indicating that the palms grew along prehistoric [[beach]]es. For millions of years, the [[Gulf Coast]] shoreline has been moving farther south.

In Texas and Louisiana, petrified palmwood is most common in the [[Toledo Bend Reservoir|Toledo Bend]] area, which is shared by both states. It was left by trees that grew when the [[Gulf of Mexico]]'s shoreline was much farther north from its present-day position. In Louisiana, petrified palmwood is found in the parishes of Rapides, Natchitoches, Grant, and Sabine.

== Description ==
[[File:Palmoxylon sp. fossil - Botanischer Garten, Dresden, Germany - DSC08508.JPG|thumb|240px|left| Fossil specimen of ''Palmoxylon'']]
Petrified palmwood includes a group of fossil woods that contain prominent rod-like structures within the regular grain of the silicified wood. Depending upon the angle at which they are cut by fracture, these rod-like structures show up as spots, tapering rods, or continuous lines. The rod-like structures are [[sclerenchyma]] bundles that comprise part of the woody tissues that gave the wood its vertical strength.

Petrified palmwood is a favorite of [[Rockhounding|rock collectors]] because it is replaced by [[silica]] and exhibits well-defined rod-like structures and variety of colors. As a result, it exhibits a wide range of colors and designs when cut that can be incorporated into [[jewelry]] and other ornamental items. Because it is composed of silica, it is hard enough to polish and withstand the wear and tear of normal use.

== Archaeology ==
In Grant Parish, Louisiana (and probably in other areas also), Native Americans used petrified palmwood to make projectile points and other tools such as knives, awls, and scrapers. Projectile points and other tools crafted from petrified palmwood have been discovered in central Grant Parish by H.R. Hicks and other Native American artifact collectors.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} It is the state stone of Texas and the official [[state fossil]] of Louisiana.<ref name="Louisiana">[http://www.statefossils.com/la/la.html State Fossils]</ref>

== Species ==
[[File: Coryphoideae - Palmoxylon.JPG|thumb|240px|right|Fossil trunks of ''Palmoxylon'' from Quaternary of Libyan Sahara]]
There are more than 200 species assigned to the genus ''Palmoxylon'' at this time.<ref name="Raizada2008">{{cite journal |last1=Raizada |first1=P. |last2=Sharma |first2=G.P. |last3=Raghubanshi |first3=A.S. |year=2008 |title=A dichotomously branched fossil palm stem from the Deccan Intertrappean beds of India |journal= Current Science |volume=94 |issue=2 |pages=182–183 |url=http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/jan252008/182.pdf}}</ref><ref name="Dutta2011">{{cite journal |last1=Dutta |first1=D. |last2=Ambwani |first2=K. |last3=Estrada-Ruiz |first3=E. |year=2011 |title=Late Cretaceous palm stem ''Palmoxylon lametaei'' sp. nov. from Bhisi Village, Maharashtra, India |journal=[[Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas]] |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=1–9 |url=http://satori.geociencias.unam.mx/en_prensa/%2801%29Dutta.pdf }}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

*''Palmoxylon araneus'' <small>Nour-El-Deen, El-Saadawi & Thomas, 2018</small> (Paleogene; [[Jebel Qatrani Formation]], Egypt)
*''Palmoxylon arcotense''
*''Palmoxylon bhisiensis'' <small>Dutta et al., 2007</small> (Cretaceous; [[Deccan Traps]], India)
*''Palmoxylon blandfordi''<small>Schenk, 1882</small> (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India)
*''Palmoxylon bororense''
*''Palmoxylon chhindwarense'' <small>Prakash, 1960</small> (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India)
*''Palmoxylon colei'' (Eocene; [[Green River Formation]], Eden Valley, Wyoming)
*''Palmoxylon compactum''
*''Palmoxylon concordiense''
*''Palmoxylon contortum'' (Eocene; [[Green River Formation]], Eden Valley, Wyoming)
*''Palmoxylon dakshinense'' <small>Prakash, 1960</small> (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India)
*''Palmoxylon deccanensis <small>Sahni, 1964</small> (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India)
*''Palmoxylon dilacunosum'' <small>Ambwani, 1984</small>
*''Palmoxylon edenense'' (Eocene; [[Green River Formation]], Eden Valley, Wyoming)
*''Palmoxylon elsaadawii'' <small>Nour-El-Deen, El-Saadawi & Thomas, 2018</small> (Paleogene; Jebel Qatrani Formation, Egypt)
*''Palmoxylon eocenum''  <small>Prakash, 1962</small> (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India)
*''Palmoxylon geometricum''
*''Palmoxylon hislopi'' <small>Rode, 1933</small> (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India)
*''Palmoxylon indicum''
*''Palmoxylon kamalam''<small>Rode, 1933</small> (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India)
*''Palmoxylon lametaei''  ([[Maastrichtian]]; [[Lameta Formation]], Deccan Traps, India)
*''Palmoxylon livistoniforme''
*''Palmoxylon livistonoides'' <small>Prakash & Ambwani, 1980</small> (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India)
*''Palmoxylon macginitiei'' (Eocene; [[Green River Formation]], Eden Valley, Wyoming)
*''Palmoxylon mathuri'' <small>Sahni, 1931</small> (Cretaceous, Gujarat, India)
*''Palmoxylon parapaniensis'' <small>Lakhanpal et al., 1979</small> (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India)
*''Palmoxylon parthasarathyi'' <small>Rao & Menon, 1964</small> (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India)
* ''Palmoxylon patagonicum'' {{small|Romero 1968}} (Paleocene, Patagonia, Argentina)
*''Palmoxylon pichaihuensis'' <small>Ottone, 2007</small> (Danian, Pichaihue Limestones, Neuquén Province; Argentina)
*''Palmoxylon pondicherriense''
*''Palmoxylon pyriforme''
*''Palmoxylon qatraniense'' <small>Nour-El-Deen, El-Saadawi & Thomas, 2018</small> (Paleogene; Jebel Qatrani Formation, Egypt)
*''Palmoxylon queenslandicum''
*''Palmoxylon rewahense''
*''Palmoxylon riograndense'' 
*''Palmoxylon rionegrense'' <small>Ancibor, 1995</small> (Late Cretaceous, Allen Formation, Río Negro Province; Argentina)
*''Palmoxylon sagari''
*''Palmoxylon santarosense'' <small>Ancibor, 1995</small> (Late Cretaceous, Allen Formation, Río Negro Province; Argentina)
*''Palmoxylon superbum'' <small>Trivedi & Verma, 1971</small> (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India)
*''Palmoxylon trachycarpeaeense'' <small> Kumar & Khan in Kumar, Spicer & Khan, 2025</small> (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India)
*''Palmoxylon valchetense'' <small>Ancibor, 1995</small> (Late Cretaceous, Allen Formation, Río Negro Province; Argentina)
*''Palmoxylon vaterum''
*''Palmoxylon wadai'' <small>Sahni, 1931</small> (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India)
*''Palmoxylon yuqueriense''

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* McMackin, C. E., 1984, "Petrified wood from east to west; some we've liked best." ''Lapidary-Journal''. vol. 37, no. 11, p.&nbsp;1582-1588.

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080515013236/http://members.cox.net/pyrophyllite/Palm.html Petrified Palm Wood (State Fossil) (Tertiary)]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q7128439}}

[[Category:Coryphoideae]]
[[Category:Prehistoric angiosperm genera]]
[[Category:Santonian genus first appearances]]
[[Category:Late Cretaceous plants]]
[[Category:Paleocene plants]]
[[Category:Oligocene plants]]
[[Category:Eocene plants]]
[[Category:Miocene genus extinctions]]
[[Category:Prehistoric life of Africa]]
[[Category:Fossils of Egypt]]
[[Category:Prehistoric life of Asia]]
[[Category:Fossils of India]]
[[Category:Prehistoric life of Europe]]
[[Category:Fossils of Germany]]
[[Category:Prehistoric plants of North America]]
[[Category:Fossils of the United States]]
[[Category:Prehistoric plants of South America]]
[[Category:Riochican]]
[[Category:Paleogene Argentina]]
[[Category:Fossils of Argentina]]
[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1882]]
[[Category:Arecaceae genera]]
[[Category:Symbols of Texas]]
[[Category:Symbols of Louisiana]]