Our featured specimen

​Pepper tree (Schinoxylon actinoporosum) 
Laney Shale Member, Green River Formation, Eocene
Blue Forest, Wyoming
** Simply put - an amazing specimen.  Excellent wood anatomy preservation.  Boring beetle tunnels with frass.  Blue agate plus lighter-hued and white fortification agate -- plus tube agate formations.  Well developed quartz crystals in the cavity.  Excellent periphery of Collonia algae.   And, we note that the piece sits perfectly on its natural side as a display option for your next display case of wood -- or right on your table for all to admire. This piece is extraordinary, even for Blue Forest!
4.25” x 3" on polished face; 4” tall end cut specimen   $75

​Bald Cypress (Taxodium sp.)
Upper Miocene
Eoulx-Brenon, near Castellane, France
**  This is definitely a new and unique locality for us.  I've asked some of our European friends if they had heard of it and one particularly studious collector provided us with a 1967 paper on the locality.  We acquired the material this year at Tucson and the label mysteriously noted that it was from the collection of "C.P." but the dealer did not want to elaborate more about the person.  We were assured of the provenance information.  The tiny villages of Eoulx and Brenon are just a few kilometers to the east of Castellane, the town that bears the same name as the Castellane Commune (the smallest administrative territorial division in France - roughly commensurate with a county here in the USA).)  Geologically, both communities sit on a thrust fault that exposes strata of a Tertiary sedimentary foreland basin, created by subduction of the North African Plate under the European Plate. These foreland basins are exceptionally complex geological structures in the French Alps - they have long been one of the most fascinating puzzles of French Geology.  Some have recently been described as sand-rich, turbidite submarine ramps fed by multiple-source fan deltas - an environment that definitely had an impact on the petrification of wood.  That would match up nicely with the conglomerate described in the 1967 paper.  The villages of Eoulx and Brenon are connected by the Torrent d' Eoulx, Torrent being the French word for a rushing stream. 

This log likely was swept into the sea by a major flood event that immediately buried the log under sand on that submarine ramp (the ancient Mediterranean Sea is called the Tethys Sea by geologists).  Sand may not have been able to deliver silica into the log as quickly as perhaps a volcanic ash could have, but we are still fortunate that preservation took place in the outer half of the log.  The inner half may well have already been subjected to heart rot before being swept by the flood because it has no visible structural preservation of the anatomy.  One of the interesting microscopic features of this slab is the presence of leaf traces (actually the trace of the leaf petiole) which appear sporadically in some of the growth cycles.  This may have been the result of leaf propagation in the trunk or branch when weather conditions were particularly conducive to vigorous growth.  See our photomicrograph for a view of some of the leaf traces among the tracheids of this slab.  While they first appear to be large, odd-shaped resin canals, they are indeed leaf petiole traces. 

If you wish to read more about the complex geology of the region you can access a PDF of a very comprehensive article here:
https://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/specpubgsl/221/1/1.full.pdf
To download the 1967 paper on wood from this locality see:
https://www.persee.fr/doc/linly_0366-1326_1967_num_36_7_5940
The paper is in French but Google Translate does a good job of converting it into readable English.
5" x 3" on the polished face; 1/2" thick slab  $79

Sycamore (Platanus sp.)
Little Butte Formation, Mehama Volcanics unit, Oligocene
McQueen Ranch, Sweet Home area, Linn County, Oregon
**  Just look at this nice Sycamore specimen recovered from the logging project at the McQueen Ranch.  This log seems to be more highly agatized that many of the other ones we have seen.   It would have been in a more favorable spot when the silica-bearing groundwater began percolating through the area and thus got a lion's share of the silica early.  Please see our photomicrograph that shows the amazing preservation of the wood anatomy.  One of the best preservations we have seen.  And, the contrasting colors of the slab make a great pattern as well!

The McQueen Ranch has not produced petrified wood for quite a long time, but a recent logging operation and the attendant soil disruption has produced some really nice specimens -- and we think we got some of the best!  If you have been following our website during the past year you have already seen what interesting and beautiful specimens that the logging operation uncovered.  The lapidary that obtained nearly all of the logs and limbs continues to produce really neat pieces like this one, which is different!  The McQueen Ranch is directly across the road from the famed Holleywood Ranch which has consistently produced enormous amounts of petrified wood, but the two neighboring sites could not be more different in mineralization.  As a matter of fact, the mineralization diversity at the McQueen site is simply remarkable.
5.5" x 4.5" on polished face; 7/16" thick slab   $55

Conifer (Pinales order) 
Little Butte Formation, Mehama Volcanics, Oligocene
Crabtree Creek, near Scio, Linn County, Oregon
**  The word "gnarly" is often used in today's vernacular as a derogatory adjective.  But when we wood collectors think of gnarly, we appreciate its beauty and character.  This is an amazing piece -- and one that we could not capture in just three photos.  To be frank, we don't often acquire stand-up style specimens (cut on both ends so that it displays in a vertical position) unless there is something exceptional about the piece and here we have an exceptional conifer!  Many Crabtree Creek specimens exhibit an exterior that appears to be water worn after residing in a stream bed for a very long time and while this one is certainly water-worn -- and gnarly good.  The exterior bulges and cavities are precisely what you might expect to find drifting along a major mountain stream today.  Bark is gone. Softer portions are worn away.  Harder portions give the impression of aesthetic art as well as scientific interest.  We could not take enough photos to show all the angles that give distinction to this piece.  If "looks like wood" is part of your criteria, this one is a definite for you. (Looks great on a table!)
3.25” x 3” on polished face; stand-up style 5” tall   $65​

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Spicebush (Lindera sp.)
Bridger Formation, Eocene
South of Green River, Wyoming
** This end cut displays some good woody fine structure on the polished face and some very nice differential weathering emphasizing the growth rings on the natural end.  Lindera is a genus that is no longer found in the Western Hemisphere and is now native mainly in Russia.  However, Eocene leaf floras of the Wyoming area conclusively indicate that Lindera was once a prominent part of the vegetation here.  We are providing a photomicrograph that shows the fine structure well.  Diffuse porous with pores in the 50 to 100 microns range along with a density of approximately 20 to 40 pores per square millimeter.  Pores are either solitary or in radial multiples of two (occasionally, but rarely, three).  You will have to decide whether to display the specimen with the handsome polished end showing or the very intriguing differentially-weathered natural end showing.  Here's an idea: get one of those small circular turntables that rotates in response to light.  That way you can show both ends!
3.5” x 2.5” on polished face; end cut up to 2.75” thick    $55

​Sycamore "crotch wood"  (Platanus sp.)
Tertiary
Private Ranch near Madras, Jefferson County, Oregon
** At the Madras Show in June, we ran into a couple of folks who are local Jefferson County residents and have been able to convince neighboring ranchers to let them collect on their ranch properties.  This end cut is one of the fruits of that relationship - a really interesting sycamore crotch wood with two hearts and anastomosing structure in between them.  While we are hopeful that these relationships will continue for several years and enhance the petrified wood inventories of dealer stocks, our experience indicates that the opposite is likely.  Ranches sell and new owners close off lands to collectors.  Diggers leave holes and foreclose any chance of future digging.  And, those are only two of the reasons that opportunities dry up.  So, our motto is to take advantage when the opportunity exists rather than waiting for more of it later on.  Perhaps this is a good strategy for all serious collectors.

Anastomosing structure is the result of a branch forking into two branches and competing for space to grow and expand.  As the two branches get larger they literally come into contact with each other and form a crotch as cells of the two literally try to push each other out of the way.  The result?  Completely mixed-up rays, vessels, and background structure.  It is this intermingling that makes crotch wood so strong and difficult to work with woodworking tools.  Also the reason that a crotch is so hard to split into firewood!    
6" x 2" on polished face, end cut up to 3.75" thick  $55

Dicot Angiosperm wrapped in lahar (Incertae sedis)
Mehama Volcanics Unit, Little Butte Formation, Oligocene
McQueen Ranch, Sweet Home area, Linn County, Oregon
** Another charmer from the McQueen Ranch, which was across the road from the former Marker Ranch (now called Holleywood Ranch) that produced some of the best preserved wood in the Linn County Petrified Forest.  This stick of angiosperm wood was rolled into a thick blanket of volcanic lahar.  Lahar is a word originally derived from the Indonesian language in Java and it means a flowing, usually violent, mass of material ejected from a volcanic vent which combines with water and whatever soil and vegetation is in the area to create a hot mudflow concentrating in rivers or smaller stream channels.  If they have sufficient gradient, they can be exceptionally destructive.  Imagine a hot, viscous mudflow with the consistency of wet concrete and you can get an image of what a lahar would look like.  The difference between a lahar and a flow consisting of only pyroclastic material shows up on this specimen.  The lahar picks up anything in its way - either destroying it or taking it along for the ride.  In our specimen, the stick of wood is being taken for a ride while the flow picks up small pebbles and bits of soil on its journey.  Notice in the photo that you can see just how angular all of those pebbles and bits are.  These small bits are definitely not river-tumbled with smooth surfaces.  This angularity is often some of the best evidence of a lahar flow.  The viscosity of the volcanic material in this particular flow made it possible to actually roll the stick into a larger cylinder before the entire mass cooled and was covered over by additional ash and mud.  It is not possible to determine the source of water that made the flowing mixture possible.  It could have been a heavy rainfall during the eruption, it could have been an existing stream, or it could have been a mass of snow which was immediately melted by the hot pyroclastic material.   It is worth noting that while the wood survived quite well, the bark was severely crunched, and while it was held perfectly in place surrounding the wood, it ended up fractured and brecciated.  We are providing a photomicrograph of the bark as well as a small portion of the lahar showing typical angularity of the soil and gravel it picked up.
5" x 4.5" on the polished face; 7/16" thick slab  $47

​Joshua Tree (Protoyucca shadishii)                              
Virgin Valley Formation,  Miocene
Badger Flat, Humboldt County, Nevada
**  Good size (6.5" x 4.5") and good thickness (1/2") on this rare wood -- and you know that we don't "throw around" the designation of rare. Joshua Tree is one of the most scarce species of petrified wood that one can collect (others include Ginkgo, Mennegoxylon, and Trochodendron).  Joshua Tree is a monocot - it sends up only one cotyledon from the seed rather than two - and silicified petrifications of monocots are very rare in the fossil record (palm is the single exception to this).  A lot of the Joshua Tree suffered from heart rot (typical for monocots) and the centers were all gone before petrification started. Since it is a monocot, it does not have annual growth rings. Instead, it has an inner primary cylinder and an outer secondary cylinder.  The specimen we offer here is entirely secondary cylinder.  Most of the fossil Joshua Tree is mineralized in colors of gray and white.  This specimen is a bit different in that it has a richer rusty red color palette.  Charming, rare piece at a very affordable price point.  Our photomicrograph shows the unique arrangement of vascular structures!
6.5" x 4.5" on polished face; 1/2" thick slab  $135

​Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga sp.)
Trout Creek Formation     Miocene
Private Ranch near McDermitt, Oregon/Nevada border
** 2017 was a good year for one of our favorite digger/cutter dealers.  He undertook a dig on the Zimmerman Ranch (with a member of the Zimmerman family!) that was a bit of a distance from the traditional Zimmerman Ranch digging site that has produced all of that beautiful easily-recognizable wood with the reddish-hued rind.  This new dig (and it was undertaken with a backhoe so it was rather deep) produced a wide variety of fossil woods with really good preservation.  The ancestral Douglas Fir genus, Pseudotsuga, is characterized by resin canals that are somewhat sparse, but when they do occur there are sometimes have two immediately next to each other.  Please see our photomicrograph showing this feature.  Worth noting: the paper by H.D. MacGinitie entitled “The Trout Creek Flora of Southeastern Oregon” published in 1933 includes the genus Pseudotsuga among the fossil leaves collected in the same Trout Creek Formation that has produced the wood.  
2.25” x 1.75" on polished face; 2.5" limb section  $32