Carboniferous Plant Fossil From Colorado

Description

Just outside of Delta, Colorado is 25 Mesa, so called because it is 25 miles from the Colorado-Utah border. Atop this mesa I found a large group of fossilized plant stems. These appear to be a form of Calamite, a Carboniferous (the era that brought us coal) plant. These were swamp plants that could reach up to 180 ft. high.
The tapered end on this piece is the result of the plant collapsing where there were more of the vesicles for transpiration of water. A knot hole shows where a frond emerged from the stalk, and the dots on the flat end are remains of the vesicles mentioned previously.
The piece measures about 2.75 x 2 x 2 inches and weighs 6.55 ounces.
3-18