Carboniferous Plants

Product Description

The Carboniferous period, roughly 359 to 299 million years ago, saw the rise of the first extensive forests on Earth, dominated by giant club mosses, horsetails, tree ferns, and early seed plants. The compressed remains of these plants, preserved in shale and coal-bearing rock, went on to form much of the world’s coal deposits, making this period central to both palaeobotany and economic geology teaching.

This specimen set provides genuine fossil plant material showing the leaf, stem, or bark impressions characteristic of Carboniferous flora, allowing students to examine first-hand how these ancient plants differed from modern vascular plants and how their accumulation over millions of years led to coal formation.

Product Details

Applications

• Teaching the link between Carboniferous forests and modern coal deposits
• Comparing early vascular plant structures with modern plant anatomy
• Palaeobotany practicals on fossil leaf, stem and bark impressions
• Building a Palaeozoic-era reference collection for earth science departments

Care & Handling

• Handle specimens flat and supported, as plant impressions are often preserved in thin, laminated shale that can split under pressure.
• Store in a dry, padded tray away from moisture, which can cause laminated rock layers to delaminate.
• Avoid scraping or brushing the impression surface directly, as fine plant detail can be lost.
• Keep out of direct sunlight for extended periods to reduce the risk of the host rock drying out and cracking.

Why Choose LabEquip

LabEquip supplies genuine geological and palaeontological specimens for school and college earth-science programmes, described accurately for classroom teaching. Browse more specimens in our Educational Rock and Minerals category, read about our approach on About Us, or contact our team via Contact Us for institutional orders.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are Carboniferous plant fossils?

They are the preserved remains, usually as impressions in shale, of plants that grew during the Carboniferous period, when vast swamp forests of club mosses, horsetails and ferns covered much of the land.

2. How are these fossils connected to coal?

Dense accumulations of Carboniferous plant material, buried and compressed over millions of years, formed much of the coal mined today, which is why the period is named after the carbon-rich deposits it produced.

3. What kinds of plants might be represented in this set?

Carboniferous flora commonly includes giant club mosses (lycopsids), horsetails (sphenopsids), and early ferns and seed ferns, all of which can appear as leaf, stem or bark impressions in specimens of this age.

4. Are these genuine fossils?

Yes, these are genuine fossil plant specimens preserved in natural rock, not artificial reproductions, giving students direct contact with authentic Palaeozoic material.

5. What age group is this suited for?

The set is appropriate from middle school earth-science introductions through to introductory undergraduate palaeobotany and historical geology coursework.

6. How should specimens be stored between classes?

Store them flat in a padded, dry tray, away from direct handling pressure on the impression surface, to preserve fine plant detail and prevent the host rock from splitting.

Last Updated: September 2026