3.1" Fossil Leaf (Phyllites) - Montana

This is a 3.1" fossil leaf from Phyllites disturbans. It is Paleocene in age and comes from the Fort Union Formation of Montana. This is the positive impression of the leaf. It comes with an acrylic display stand. There are areas of restoration on the surface of the leaf where there was some flaking onto the negative.

The color of the rock and the leaf is rather unusual and different than most of the leaves seen from the Fort Union Formation. They were collected from a locality where a fire in a nearby coal seam "cooked" the rock at sometime in the past. This changed the color and gave it a chalky texture. The leaf has some small areas of touchup work done to it where some of the color had flaked onto the negative when split.