Plant Traces from North America

What are Plant Traces? Plant traces mainly include the impressions of roots or stems, indicating places where plants were living. Plant trace fossils rarely record movement. Exceptions to this would be when an external force causes the plant to move, such as kelp moving over the sand from the force of waves, or wind blowing bent grass blades around, forming circles on the surface of the mud or soil around the plant. Plant trace fossils, particularly root casts, are fairly common in certain sedimentary layers, but may go unrecognized unless a person knows what to look for.

First known fossil occurrence: Devonian.

Last known fossil occurrence: Quaternary. This group has living relatives.