Fossil Plants
The Paleobotany Collection spans 3.8 billion years of Earth history, but has its major strengths in the Late Paleozoic and Cretaceous-Paleogene.
Collection Overview
At the Field Museum, staff, students, and volunteers, as well as researchers from around the world, study the Paleobotany Collection to uncover the fascinating stories of ancient plants, exploring their evolution, prehistoric ecosystems, past climates, and details of their taxonomy and systematics. The Collection is global in scope and spans the history of plant life. The Collection is particularly strong in Late Paleozoic plants, including over 20,000 Mazon Creek nodules and over 6,000 coal balls plus over 50,000 associated slides and peels. Mesozoic highlights include Triassic-Jurassic plants from Greenland, charcoalified flowers from the Cretaceous Potomac Group in Maryland and Virginia, USA and lignified mesofossils from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia. The Cenozoic collection is particularly strong in Eocene floras from the USA, including the Green River, Wilcox, and Claiborne formations. The Paleobotany Collection also houses ~70,000 palynological slides and one of the world's most important collections of receptaculitid algae. The majority of the Collection is arranged stratigraphically by locality.
Visiting the collection
Visits to the collection by scientific researchers are strongly encouraged. Loans of collection material may be made only to individuals affiliated with reputable scientific institutions (see Fossils & Meteorites policy page). Visits and loans are arranged through the Collections Manager.
