Ancient Clones

Petrified redwood trio

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

Stump Shelter

Amenities

2 listed

Accessible Sites, Amphitheater

Geoheritage Highlight!

The petrified redwood trio at Florissant is unique in the fossil record. Today’s redwood trees grow only along the Pacific coast and are part of the heritage of the modern world’s biodiversity. Their ancient ancestors, including the fossil stumps at Florissant, show that during Earth’s past these trees were much more widely distributed around the northern hemisphere. Their fossil record is part of our Geoheritage that helps us understand the past as we compare it to our world today.

 This “family circle” of fossilized redwood stumps grew out of the single trunk of an older parent tree. The tree trunks are ancient clones, or genetically identical copies of that parent tree. Modern coastal redwoods also reproduce by stump sprouting. If a redwood is toppled or burned, a ring of new trees often sprouts from burls around the trunk’s base. In the coastal redwood forests, family groups are common. But this trio of stone stumps is unique in the world’s fossil record.

Redwoods Were Once Widespread

Most people would consider the sight of a coastal redwood forest as a special event! In the Eocene when the Florissant redwoods were growing, redwood tree species were common around the globe. The band of green on this map shows where the trees were growing. This map was developed by the analysis of fossil foliage, wood, and pollen.

How a Family Circle Forms

If the main trunk of a redwood is damaged, the dormant stems begin growing rapidly, using the parent tree's root system for nourishment and support. Not all the stems manage to grow into a mature tree, and in this case, three grew into a family that was petrified when a lahar covered their bases.