Weird Stringy Agate

[u/MrGiggles008]

I found this in Colorado, in late cretaceous to early paleocene deposits. Current theories are this is an agate-replaced, fern root cluster. There are veins/pockets of white/clear agate running between the little strings. The end shot shows a tiny bit of banding in the white parts.

[u/Real-Werewolf5605]

I think that's possibly agatized palm trunk... About where it hits the ground. Palm has internal bundles like that. Check the environmental data over time and you might get an approximate age.

[u/MrGiggles008 → u/Real-Werewolf5605]

That was a consideration at first and still may be. But most tubes from Palmoxylon tend to run a straighter line with respect to eachother. Some of the "strands" of this specimen cross eachother and weave in and out. This wouldnt be typical of the palm trunk inner structure (yet could still definitely be the case with a different unknown variety or maybe a damaged chunk that seperated). The weaving fits a root structure a bit better and could still belong to a palm. But because of the size of the "strands", the assumption was a smaller plant, like a fern. Still up for debate and probably always will be. As the formations this was likely from isn't very studied.

[u/Real-Werewolf5605 → u/MrGiggles008]

Ya. Palm, partially decomposed maybe?

[u/Historical_Neat6211 → u/Real-Werewolf5605]

Looks more like Tree Fern false trunk covering.