Photo: National Park Service, Fossil Butte National Monument
- Order
- Sapindales
- Family
- Simaroubaceae
The oldest known representation of the Simaroubaceae family in North America — possibly the world.
There are about 100 modern species in the Simaroubaceae family, found primarily in tropical and subtropical regions. The Ailanthus genus has somewhere between five and ten living species, commonly known as Trees of Heaven.
A. confucii is a winged fruit characterized by its centrally located seed. It is known from fossil deposits in North America, Asia, and Europe and is found almost exclusively in lake and pond deposits. FBM specimens are the oldest known representation of the family in North America, and possibly the world.
Species text: National Park Service, Fossil Butte National Monument — Fossil Plant Species.