New Members abarrera12 Posted August 7, 2015 New Members Share Posted August 7, 2015 I've been at my house a few years now and I've wondered what these rocks in my backyard are. They seem to be impressions of the same plant. Would anyone know how I could identify them? Here's an album of photos: https://goo.gl/photos/QJ6koQfHcBE5zFkM6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Dendrites Not plants. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA Fossil Finder Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 (edited) What you have are called dendrites. They are usually manganese crystals, and are often mistaken for plants. Edit: JohnJ posted while I was typing. Edited August 7, 2015 by PA Fossil Finder 1 Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZiggieCie Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Welcome to the Forum, and glad your here. Good photos also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Members abarrera12 Posted August 7, 2015 Author New Members Share Posted August 7, 2015 Wow, that was quick It's funny all these years wondering what they were and they're not even plants. Thank you for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 (edited) You aren't alone. When I was young I had a few of these listed as plants in my fossil collection. I even used them in a science project at high school. Nobody thought they weren't plants. Worse...as a geology student I once carried a large piece of what I thought was petrified would about 8 miles out of the Rockies. Must have weighed a million pounds in my pack. My prof took one look at it and said it was a good example of folded sandstone. Decades later that rock is probably still at the geology department being used to teach students about mistaken identification. Edited August 7, 2015 by Ridgehiker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paleoflor Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Dendrites are very often mistaken for plants. Funnily enough, I once experienced the opposite too, at a mineral show in Gent, Belgium. Searching for green in the dark grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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