Description

Middle Miocene (Seldovian)
Sucker Creek Formation – Sucker Creek Flora
Malheur County, Oregon, USA
14mm winged seed on 40mm slab.
Seed,

Isolated seeds are difficult-to-impossible to identify if they are not known from specimens connected to the rest of the plant.  This is often the case with extinct plants from the Paleozoic or Mesozoic with no modern relatives or with Cenozoic plants that have very similar or lesser-studied seeds.

A “winged seed” bears an extended surface that allows them to spin in the air on the way to the ground like a helicopter.  If it catches even a light breeze, it might drift to an open patch of ground where it can sprout and  get enough sun and water to grow.

This is an interesting fossil specimen for both the novice and advanced collector as it exhibits an adaptation that can be seen in modern specimens as well.