What is one example of an upside down polystrate fossilized tree?

Question

I’ve heard of these fossils being upside down, I’d like to get information about those specifically.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Answer 1

Sir Charles Lyell, friend and colleague of Charles Darwin, found such trees at a site along the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada, near the town of Joggins in the 1830's. There is an article documenting his discovery at this site:

http://www.icr.org/article/445%20/

Here's an excerpt from the analysis of the find, written by Dr. Harold Coffin:

"Some of the fossilized trees are inclined, not directly in vertical growth positions. A few are found upside down. None of the tree root systems are complete; all have been truncated. "

I hope this helps, I found the article very interesting...

Answer 2

Upside down... seems a bit unlikely, if not impossible. The thing with polystrate trees is that that they are always rooted in their paleosol after being buried by sediment, so for them to appear upside down the whole stratigraphy would have to be younging upside down, which is not unheard of. All other trees will be lied down flat before being covered by sediment, in which case they are not polystrate.

I have seen some polystrate trees on the isle of Portland in Dorset, UK; these have been silicified as they took up silicious water possibly from nearby hot springs while they were still alive. They are in limestones indicative of a shallow marine/brackish water, possibly a bit like modern mangrove swamps.