Paleobotany Reconstruction of the branching system of Archaeopteris, a Devonian progymnosperm (after Beck). The paleobotanical collections at the University of Michigan contain approximately 15,000 individually catalogued specimens. This estimate is necessarily conservative because an individual specimen may contain more than one leaf, stem, flower, or fruit impression. The collections have strong historical importance due to the strength of paleobotany at the University of Michigan over the past 50 years. The collections include the important specimens of Chester A. Arnold, and Charles B. Beck, all past curators of paleobotany at the University of Michigan as well as their students and colleagues. The collections are strong in Paleozoic vascular plants, especially pteridophytes, progymnosperms, and gymnosperms. These specimens document the rise of seed plants and early increases in complexity of water and nutrient conducting tissues that allowed diversification of the first arborescent (tree-like) growth forms. Early Cretaceous angiosperms, the earliest flowering plants, are also well representedby isolated leaves and dispersed cuticle remains recovered from sediments deposited well before the time when larger portions of these plants are preserved intact. The collections also include important holdings of Cenozoic ferns and angiosperms from the Western United States. Among algal groups, we hold one of the world's largest collections of Paleozoic receptaculitids, and the only such collection for which most specimens have associated data on field orientation (critical for assessing the anatomy and growth mode of this problematic group). Type collections include all UMMP published paleobotanical specimens from the 1940's to the present. Type specimens are integrated into the main paleobotanical collections. Organization of the collections is by stratigraphic position. For further information, or to arrange for examination of particular specimens, please contact:

Click on the reconstruction of Archaeopteris above from any page to return to the Paleobotany home page.