Rare Permian Calamites Plant Fossils from Antarctica

Description: Scant but important fossil plants are known from several locations in Antarctica. This specimen of stem fragments comes from the Polar Institute expeditions of over 50 years ago. This fine specimen is a member of the genus Calamites, a member of the Calamitales which belong to the Sphenophytes. Whorls of small leaflets were arranged concentrically around a thin stem and are called Annularia or Asterophyllites. Calamites itself is the name originally given to a stem section, but now applies to the entire plant. These were indicative of humid to wet habitats such as along rivers and lake shores, an environmemt far different from Antarctica of today,The only living example of the sphenophytes is the horsetail Equisetum. This is a most unusual specimen, and the only example I have been able to secure. See my other listings for an example of the Gondwanan tree Glossopteris.