The museum has a huge collection of Glossopteris fossils
- EXTINCT TREE
Beautiful big trees
Glossopteris trees were large and grew up to 30 meters in height.
They were deciduous (they shed their leaves seasonally) and grew in swampy environments.
Glossopteris dominated the southern hemisphere during the Permian Age. South Africa’s huge coal reserves were formed when the remains of the trees were buried and transformed into coal. Glossopteris trees went extinct 250 million years ago.
- BEAUTFUL AND FASCINATING
Glossopteris fossils are colourful and detailed
The glossopteris fossils are very interesting. They show the tree’s rings, bark, and wood. Some of the fossils even show cell structure.
The fossils are very colourful from all the different additional minerals during the fossilization process.
- YOU CAN COUNT THE RINGS
The heart of a Glossopteris
This fossil shows the rings in the heart of a Glossopteris tree right down to its first year in the swamp all those millions of years ago.
- EVERY PIECE IS DIFFERENT
Over 1,000 Glossopteris fossils
My museum boasts over 1,000 Glossopteris fossils, of all sizes… from small and delicate to quite large. There is a poster to tell you what minerals are responsible for each colour.
