AUSTRALIA
28 pieces
- Donponoxylon bennettii – Jurassic, extinct gymnosperm from Queensland, Australia. This is the other half of the specimen on page 145 of Petrified Wood . The stratigraphic layer that includes Donponoxylon also holds fossil coniferous wood and fern. All of it traveled on one or more rough journeys many millions of years ago, carried by ice, water, landslides, and whatever, resulting in a tumbled river cobble effect with a smooth and somewhat colorful exterior. I acquired these about 20 years apart. This one was with Dr. Tidwell for well more than a decade as he worked on multiple projects simultaneously while still a full time professor at BYU. 23 by 19 cm polished face; up to 58 mm thick; six pounds and eight ounces.
2. Donponoxylon bennettii – Jurassic. Queensland, Australia. Full round log end. Glass-like. From the personal collection of the parents of a major Australian rock dealer. Old-time find. Appears in Ancient Forests on page 114. 13 by 7.5 cm polished face; 46 mm thick; one pound and seven ounces.
3. Lune River, Tasmania. Jurassic. Specimen round conifer log, cut and polished on one end. Abundant natural beauty. Blocks of permineralized wood seem to float in a blue agate sea. Glen Archer provenance. Full page in Ancient Forests. 16 by 22 cm polished face; 14 cm tall; fourteen pounds and six ounces.
4. Queensland. Jurassic. Full round log – almost perfect Araucaria log. A wonderful Queensland log with amazing colors and mineralization. 14 by 11 cm polished face; 8 cm tall; three pounds and fourteen ounces.
5. Queensland. Jurassic. Full round slice. Excellent piece with killer color. This piece owns half a page in Petrified Wood, page 46. It’s perfect. 18 by 16 cm polished face; 21 mm thick (nice and thick like they cut them in the old days); two pounds and six ounces.
6. Queensland. Jurassic. Donponoxylon bennettii. Full round slice with a nicely centered center. 14 by 15 cm polished face; 12 mm thick; one pound and two ounces.
7. Queensland. Jurassic. Full round slice, likely Araucaria. Excellent piece with prime color for the location. This piece owns a quarter page in Ancient Forests, page 106. It’s so perfect that it’s polished on both sides and is a pleasure to hold. 15 by 19 cm polished faces; 1.5 cm tall; one pound and fourteen ounces.
8. Queensland. Jurassic. Osmunda. Thick full round slice. It’s on page 92 in Ancient Forests with a full image plus a macro image of the center stele. It’s as nice of an osmunda as I have seen. It has all the right colors, intense silicification, a full center stele, many stem bases, and a bunch of blue agate. 18 by 11.5 cm polished face; a beefy 2 cm thick; one pound and fifteen ounces.
9. Queensland. Jurassic. Donponoxylon bennettii. Full round slice with fabulous color and pattern. 23 by 16 cm polished face; 8 mm thick; fourteen ounces.
10. Queensland. Jurassic. Donponoxylon bennettii.. Full round slice as seen in Petrified Wood on page 147 as a full page. 11 by 16 cm polished face; 15 mm thick; fourteen ounces.
11. Shipworm wood. Windalia Radiolarite formation, Lower Cretaceous, Kennedy Ranges, Western Australia, Australia. Full round slice as seen on page 106 of Ancient Forests. 16.5 by 11.5 cm polished face; 7 mm thick; eight ounces.
12. Party Time. Shipworm wood. Windalia Radiolarite formation, Lower Cretaceous, Kennedy Ranges, Western Australia, Australia. Full round slice as seen on page 106 of Ancient Forests. It has always looked like a party with balloons to me. Great piece. 16 by 12 cm polished face; 14 mm thick; one pound and four ounces.
13. Araucaria-like conifer. Full round, cut and polished on one face, otherwise all natural as found. 68 by 78 mm polished face; 15 cm long; one pound and two ounces.
14. Donponoxylon jacksonii. Jurassic. Queensland, Australia. Full round log end. Remarkably perfect. Six lobes. Piece studied by Dr. Tidwell for this species. 9 by 11 cm polished face; 52 mm thick; one pound and eleven ounces.
15. Donponoxylon jacksonii. Jurassic. Queensland, Australia. Full round slice off the same log as the previous specimen. Remarkably perfect. Six lobes. 9.5 by 12 cm polished face; 12 mm thick; nine ounces.
16. Donponoxylon jacksonii. Jurassic. Queensland, Australia. Specimen round log end. Double lobed. Superior cellular preservation. 9 by 12 cm polished face; 2 cm thick; twelve ounces.
17. Araucaria-like conifer. Jurassic. Queensland, Australia. Full round, cut and polished on one face, otherwise all natural as found. Appears in Ancient Forests on page 110. 6.5 by 8.5 cm polished face; 2 cm thick; eight ounces.
18. Conifer. Tasmania. Jurassic (?) Full round slice. Fine silica, somewhat absorbent. Prominent rays. Macerated cells. 7.5 by 8 cm polished face; 10 mm thick; 4.5 ounces.
19. Araucaria-like conifer. Jurassic. Queensland, Australia. Specimen round, cut and polished on one face, otherwise all natural as found. 5 by 7 cm polished face; 3 cm thick; six ounces.
20. Hawk Eye. Araucaria-like conifer. Jurassic. Queensland, Australia. Full round branch or bole section, cut and polished on one end, otherwise all natural as found. Near perfection all around, including at the cellular level. 38 by 48 mm polished face; 84 mm long; ten ounces.
21. Araucaria-like conifer. Jurassic. Queensland, Australia. Full round branch or bole section, cut on both ends and polished on one. Remarkable cell preservation. Near the cut face are remnants of black marker. (These can easily be removed with acetone.) I left them as a historical note. The standard model back then, circa 1990s, was for the exporter in Australia to ship tons of rough rock by the container to Mainland China with instructions to have this or that type of rock made into figurines or spheres or however agreed. With wood like this, the exporter marked the pieces where they were to be cut and polished. When the factory in China completed their work, they shipped it by container to Los Angeles and then by truck to Quartzsite or Tucson, Arizona, where the goods were offered for sale at wholesale. Typically, fossil wood would be a small percentage of the goods, if any. 51 by 42 mm polished face; 30 mm tall; four ounces.
22. (3 pieces) Araucaria-like conifer. Jurassic. Queensland, Australia. Full round branch or bole section, cut into three sections, each polished on one face – one completed piece. Remarkable cell preservation. 3.5 by 6 cm polished faces; 82 mm long altogether; nine ounces.
23. Osmunda. Jurassic. Queensland. Small full round slice completely jam-packed with remarkably well-preserved structures. Appears in Ancient Forests on page 95. [gift from John Bennett] 55 by 62 cm polished face; 7 mm thick; 1.4 ounces.
24. Osmunda. Jurassic. Queensland. Small specimen round slice with glassy, colorful, aesthetically-pleasing, well-preserved structures. Appears in Ancient Forests as a micro-image on page 96. [Confession: I had it stashed away to make into a bolo tie.] 70 by 46 mm polished face; 9 mm thick; 1.7 ounces.
25. Donponoxylon bennettii – Jurassic. Queensland, Australia. Full round log section. 14.5 by 8 cm polished face; 3 cm thick; 13.5 ounces.
26. Shipworm wood. Windalia Radiolarite formation, Lower Cretaceous, Kennedy Ranges, Western Australia, Australia. Rugged full round conifer, contour polished on one end and otherwise all natural. The wood grew and lived a rewarding life before sinking into salt water, being invaded by tunneling mollusks (such as teredo), then fossilized, and who knows what else happened before the earth’s surface eroded enough to allow it to be liberated by a tanned, muscular Aussie with a rock hammer or more likely a backhoe. The lighter colored rock is also part of the original tree and has growth rings throughout. Much interest. No glue – no filler. 10 by 11 cm mirror-polished face; 21 cm long; eleven pounds and ten ounces.
END AUSTRALIA