Jurassic Tree Araucaria Fossil - Authentic 200-Million-Year Plant Specimen

Araucaria Fossil Wood From a Jurassic Forest

This Araucaria fossil wood is a highly polished fragment of petrified tree. This monkey puzzle tree fossil belongs to the same conifer genus as the living tree. The piece was recovered in Queensland, Australia.

Product Details

• Tree: Araucaria, a Jurassic conifer
• Type: Petrified Araucaria wood, highly polished
• Age: Jurassic Period
• Origin: Queensland, Australia
• Display: Acrylic jar in glass-topped riker case, 4.5 in x 3.5 in
• Includes: Information card that serves as the certificate of authenticity
• Note: Size, color and pattern vary widely, so each piece of Araucaria fossil wood is unique.

A Tree That Barely Changed

Araucaria looks primitive because it has changed little over about 200 million years. Living trees grow 30 to 60 m tall. The genus has a fossil record that reaches back to the Middle Jurassic.

Petrified wood forms when minerals replace the plant tissue. That is why this Jurassic Araucaria can show wood grain and color in polished stone.

The Monkey Puzzle Connection

Today the monkey puzzle tree is an endangered evergreen of Chile and Argentina. It is called a living fossil because related trees were common in prehistory.

Hold a monkey puzzle tree fossil and you hold part of the forest dinosaurs walked through. Explore similar finds in our Natural History Collection and Authentic Fossil Specimens.

Display and Care

Keep the petrified Araucaria wood in its jar. Avoid knocks on the polished surface, and keep it out of damp.

About Petrified Wood

Araucaria fossil wood is not a cast. Mineral replaces the original cells, often one by one. Collectors prize a polished Jurassic Araucaria section for its rings and swirls.

For More Reading from the Web

• Learn why the monkey puzzle tree is called a living fossil. Living Fossils at the Washington Park Arboretum - UW Botanic Gardens
• Read the supplier's page on this specimen. Jurassic Tree Araucaria Fossil - Mini Museum