biology

Palmoxylon

Palmoxylon is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Palmoxylon rather than just read about it. In short: Palmoxylon, also called petrified palmwood, is an extinct genus of palm named from petrified wood found around the world. Fossil record This genus is known in the fossil record from the Late Cretaceous to the Miocene (from about 84.9 to 11.6 million years ago).

Key takeaways

Palmoxylon belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Palmoxylon to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Palmoxylon from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Palmoxylon, also called petrified palmwood, is an extinct genus of palm named from petrified wood found around the world.

Fossil record This genus is known in the fossil record from the Late Cretaceous to the Miocene (from about 84.9 to 11.6 million years ago). Fossils of species within this genus have been found in Germany, Italy (Sardinia), United States, Egypt, Libya and Argentina (Bororó and Salamanca Formations). Many species were described from the Deccan Traps in India.

Distribution A number of species from the Cretaceous and Cenozoic have been described from the Patagonia region of South America. There have been a number of species reported from Egypt which are dated to the Late Eocene and Early Miocene. Specimens from the Oligocene epoch (34 - 23 mya) can be collected from many scattered sites in east Texas and western Louisiana. Fossils found near fossil palmwood include corals, sponges, and mollusks, indicating that the palms grew along prehistoric beaches. For millions of years, the Gulf Coast shoreline has been moving farther south. In Texas and Louisiana, petrified palmwood is most common in the Toledo Bend area, which is shared by both states. It was left by trees that grew when the Gulf of Mexico's shoreline was much farther north from its present-day position. In Louisiana, petrified palmwood is found in the parishes of Rapides, Natchitoches, Grant, and Sabine.

Description

Petrified palmwood includes a group of fossil woods that contain prominent rod-like structures within the regular grain of the silicified wood. Depending upon the angle at which they are cut by fracture, these rod-like structures show up as spots, tapering rods, or continuous lines. The rod-like structures are sclerenchyma bundles that comprise part of the woody tissues that gave the wood its vertical strength. Petrified palmwood is a favorite of rock collectors because it is replaced by silica and exhibits well-defined rod-like structures and variety of colors. As a result, it exhibits a wide range of colors and designs when cut that can be incorporated into jewelry and other ornamental items. Because it is composed of silica, it is hard enough to polish and withstand the wear and tear of normal use.

Archaeology In Grant Parish, Louisiana (and probably in other areas also), Native Americans used petrified palmwood to make projectile points and other tools such as knives, awls, and scrapers. Projectile points and other tools crafted from petrified palmwood have been discovered in central Grant Parish by H.R. Hicks and other Native American artifact collectors. It is the state stone of Texas and the official state fossil of Louisiana.

Species

There are more than 200 species assigned to the genus Palmoxylon at this time.

Palmoxylon araneus Nour-El-Deen, El-Saadawi & Thomas, 2018 (Paleogene; Jebel Qatrani Formation, Egypt) Palmoxylon arcotense Palmoxylon bhisiensis Dutta et al., 2007 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) Palmoxylon blandfordi Schenk, 1882 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) Palmoxylon bororoense Arguijo, 1979 (Paleogene; Cerro Bororó Formation, Chubut Province; Argentina) Palmoxylon chhindwarense Prakash, 1960 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) Palmoxylon colei (Eocene; Green River Formation, Eden Valley, Wyoming) Palmoxylon compactum Palmoxylon concordiense Palmoxylon contortum (Eocene; Green River Formation, Eden Valley, Wyoming) Palmoxylon dakshinense Prakash, 1960 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) Palmoxylon deccanensis Sahni, 1964 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) Palmoxylon dilacunosum Ambwani, 1984 Palmoxylon edenense (Eocene; Green River Formation, Eden Valley, Wyoming) Palmoxylon elsaadawii Nour-El-Deen, El-Saadawi & Thomas, 2018 (Paleogene; Jebel Qatrani Formation, Egypt) Palmoxylon eocenum Prakash, 1962 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) Palmoxylon geometricum Palmoxylon hislopi Rode, 1933 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) Palmoxylon indicum Palmoxylon kamalamRode, 1933 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) Palmoxylon lametaei (Maastrichtian; Lameta Formation, Deccan Traps, India) Palmoxylon livistoniforme Palmoxylon livistonoides Prakash & Ambwani, 1980 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) Palmoxylon macginitiei (Eocene; Green River Formation, Eden Valley, Wyoming) Palmoxylon mathuri Sahni, 1931 (Cretaceous, Gujarat, India) Palmoxylon parapaniensis Lakhanpal et al., 1979 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) Palmoxylon parthasarathyi Rao & Menon, 1964 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) Palmoxylon patagonicum Romero 1968 (Paleocene, Patagonia, Argentina) Palmoxylon pichaihuensis Ottone, 2007 (Danian, Pichaihue Limestones, Neuquén Province; Argentina) Palmoxylon pondicherriense Palmoxylon pyriforme Palmoxylon qatraniense Nour-El-Deen, El-Saadawi & Thomas, 2018 (Paleogene; Jebel Qatrani Formation, Egypt) Palmoxylon queenslandicum Palmoxylon rewahense Palmoxylon riograndense Palmoxylon rionegrense Ancibor, 1995 (Late Cretaceous, Allen Formation, Río Negro Province; Argentina) Palmoxylon sagari Palmoxylon santarosense Ancibor, 1995 (Late Cretaceous, Allen Formation, Río Negro Province; Argentina) Palmoxylon superbum Trivedi & Verma, 1971 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) Palmoxylon trachycarpeaeense Kumar & Khan in Kumar, Spicer & Khan, 2025 (Cretaceous, Deccan Traps; India) Palmoxylon valchetense Ancibor, 1995 (Late Cretaceous, Allen Formation, Río Negro Province; Argentina) Palmoxylon vaterum Arguijo, 1981 (Paleogene; Cerro Bororó Formation, Chubut Province; Argentina) Palmoxylon wadai Sahni, 1931 (Cretaceous; Deccan Traps, India) Palmoxylon yuqueriense

References

Further reading McMackin, C. E., 1984, "Petrified wood from east to west; some we've liked best." Lapidary-Journal. vol. 37, no. 11, p. 1582-1588.

External links Petrified Palm Wood (State Fossil) (Tertiary)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Palmoxylon

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Palmoxylon claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Palmoxylon before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Palmoxylon ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Palmoxylon

In research: Palmoxylon appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Palmoxylon in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Palmoxylon is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Arecaceae genera, Coryphoideae, Eocene plants, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Palmoxylon outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Palmoxylon in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Palmoxylon means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Palmoxylon out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Palmoxylon in simple terms?

Palmoxylon, also called petrified palmwood, is an extinct genus of palm named from petrified wood found around the world. Fossil record This genus is known in the fossil record from the Late Cretaceous to the Miocene (from about 84.9 to 11.6 million years ago).

Why does Palmoxylon matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Palmoxylon?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Palmoxylon.