Photo: National Park Service, Fossil Butte National Monument
- Order
- Arecales
- Family
- Arecaceae
Palm fronds and inflorescences — indicators of a warm, wet Fossil Lake shoreline.
Palm inflorescences and palm fronds are common fossil specimens from the FBM. Variation in morphology indicates Fossil Lake may have been home to several palm species. No FBM palm species have been described as of yet.
The abundance of large and complete palm frond specimens suggests there may have been palm trees near the shores of Fossil Lake. There are over 2,000 living palm species, found naturally in tropical, subtropical, and humid environments.
Species text: National Park Service, Fossil Butte National Monument — Fossil Plant Species.