Weird ancient tree from before dinosaurs found in Canadian quarry

Forests of giant, scaly-stemmed club mosses once rose from ancient swamps in Atlantic Canada. But fossils found in a New Brunswick quarry show some trees that grew among them were even stranger — more like the truffula trees in Dr. Seuss books than any tree that exists today.

Weird ancient tree from before dinosaurs found in Canadian quarry
An illustration of a tree with a spindly trunk and a bush of leaves at the top.

Forests of giant, scaly-stemmed club mosses once rose from ancient swamps in Atlantic Canada. But fossils found in a New Brunswick quarry show some trees that grew among them were even stranger — more like the truffula trees in Dr. Seuss books than any tree that exists today.