Item Number
842
Type
image
Description
Red Oak
Size
8x8
Age
Pliocene, ~4-5 million years
SciId
Family: Fagaceae
Status
in inventory
Display/Storage
Storage
Building
Zuhl Library
Original Site
Oregon
Date Acquired
1978
Source
Roner
Gallery/Room\Floor
Cage
Notes
Oregon, Deschutes Co., near Deschutes River, centr. K-327. Notes from Dr. Scott Singleton, Houston Museum: Formation: Deschutes Fm. Distinguishing Characteristics: Oak is one of the easiest woods to identify because of its thick rays, large vessels at the growth ring boundary, and streaming smaller vessels in the late wood. The large rays are conspicuous to the eye and are separated by a large number of very thin rays (known as uniseriate rays). The large vessels at the growth ring boundary are either empty, as in the red oak group, or filled with tyloses, or thin membranes that seal the vessel, as in the white oak group. (Tyloses protect older, dead wood from infestation by bacteria and fungus). The smaller vessels in the latewood are surrounded by a whitish cell, called parenchyma cells, which give it a streaming appearance. Environment of Deposition: The Pliocene is characterized by a continued cooling and decrease in summer rainfall from the previous era (Miocene). The Pliocene Cascade rain-shadow flora of eastern Oregon was a low-diversity, riparian vegetation of deciduous hardwoods (meaning the hardwoods grew along bodies of water) that were bordered by scrubland. Common genera were maple, poplar, oak, willow, and elm. The Deschutes flora composition indicates it came from an upland environment, above 1000 ft. Original deposition was either as rafted material in rivers or waterlogged material in lakes. These environments were repeatedly covered by basalt flows or ash falls from Cascade volcanoes. When entombed by molten basalt, these trees burned unless they were covered by water in a stream, lake, or swamp. Fossil trees entombed in these basalt flows are commonly present only within thin and well-defined soil zones. Ash falls offered an opportunity for these forests to be preserved in their upright, in-situ positions by large quantities of relatively cool ash. Used in Tree Ring Research.
Preview
Description
Oregon, Deschutes Co., near Deschutes River, centr. K-327. Notes from Dr. Scott Singleton, Houston Museum: Formation: Deschutes Fm. Distinguishing Characteristics: Oak is one of the easiest woods to identify because of its thick rays, large vessels at the growth ring boundary, and streaming smaller vessels in the late wood. The large rays are conspicuous to the eye and are separated by a large number of very thin rays (known as uniseriate rays). The large vessels at the growth ring boundary are either empty, as in the red oak group, or filled with tyloses, or thin membranes that seal the vessel, as in the white oak group. (Tyloses protect older, dead wood from infestation by bacteria and fungus). The smaller vessels in the latewood are surrounded by a whitish cell, called parenchyma cells, which give it a streaming appearance. Environment of Deposition: The Pliocene is characterized by a continued cooling and decrease in summer rainfall from the previous era (Miocene). The Pliocene Cascade rain-shadow flora of eastern Oregon was a low-diversity, riparian vegetation of deciduous hardwoods (meaning the hardwoods grew along bodies of water) that were bordered by scrubland. Common genera were maple, poplar, oak, willow, and elm. The Deschutes flora composition indicates it came from an upland environment, above 1000 ft. Original deposition was either as rafted material in rivers or waterlogged material in lakes. These environments were repeatedly covered by basalt flows or ash falls from Cascade volcanoes. When entombed by molten basalt, these trees burned unless they were covered by water in a stream, lake, or swamp. Fossil trees entombed in these basalt flows are commonly present only within thin and well-defined soil zones. Ash falls offered an opportunity for these forests to be preserved in their upright, in-situ positions by large quantities of relatively cool ash. Used in Tree Ring Research. 10x10
Keywords
Red Oak Oregon, Deschutes Co., near Deschutes River, centr. K-327. Notes from Dr. Scott Singleton, Houston Museum: Formation: Deschutes Fm. Distinguishing Characteristics: Oak is one of the easiest woods to identify because of its thick rays, large vessels at the growth ring boundary, and streaming smaller vessels in the late wood. The large rays are conspicuous to the eye and are separated by a large number of very thin rays (known as uniseriate rays). The large vessels at the growth ring boundary are either empty, as in the red oak group, or filled with tyloses, or thin membranes that seal the vessel, as in the white oak group. (Tyloses protect older, dead wood from infestation by bacteria and fungus). The smaller vessels in the latewood are surrounded by a whitish cell, called parenchyma cells, which give it a streaming appearance. Environment of Deposition: The Pliocene is characterized by a continued cooling and decrease in summer rainfall from the previous era (Miocene). The Pliocene Cascade rain-shadow flora of eastern Oregon was a low-diversity, riparian vegetation of deciduous hardwoods (meaning the hardwoods grew along bodies of water) that were bordered by scrubland. Common genera were maple, poplar, oak, willow, and elm. The Deschutes flora composition indicates it came from an upland environment, above 1000 ft. Original deposition was either as rafted material in rivers or waterlogged material in lakes. These environments were repeatedly covered by basalt flows or ash falls from Cascade volcanoes. When entombed by molten basalt, these trees burned unless they were covered by water in a stream, lake, or swamp. Fossil trees entombed in these basalt flows are commonly present only within thin and well-defined soil zones. Ash falls offered an opportunity for these forests to be preserved in their upright, in-situ positions by large quantities of relatively cool ash. Used in Tree Ring Research. 1978 Pliocene, ~4-5 million years Small Slab
Keywords
Red Oak Oregon, Deschutes Co., near Deschutes River, centr. K-327. Notes from Dr. Scott Singleton, Houston Museum: Formation: Deschutes Fm. Distinguishing Characteristics: Oak is one of the easiest woods to identify because of its thick rays, large vessels at the growth ring boundary, and streaming smaller vessels in the late wood. The large rays are conspicuous to the eye and are separated by a large number of very thin rays (known as uniseriate rays). The large vessels at the growth ring boundary are either empty, as in the red oak group, or filled with tyloses, or thin membranes that seal the vessel, as in the white oak group. (Tyloses protect older, dead wood from infestation by bacteria and fungus). The smaller vessels in the latewood are surrounded by a whitish cell, called parenchyma cells, which give it a streaming appearance. Environment of Deposition: The Pliocene is characterized by a continued cooling and decrease in summer rainfall from the previous era (Miocene). The Pliocene Cascade rain-shadow flora of eastern Oregon was a low-diversity, riparian vegetation of deciduous hardwoods (meaning the hardwoods grew along bodies of water) that were bordered by scrubland. Common genera were maple, poplar, oak, willow, and elm. The Deschutes flora composition indicates it came from an upland environment, above 1000 ft. Original deposition was either as rafted material in rivers or waterlogged material in lakes. These environments were repeatedly covered by basalt flows or ash falls from Cascade volcanoes. When entombed by molten basalt, these trees burned unless they were covered by water in a stream, lake, or swamp. Fossil trees entombed in these basalt flows are commonly present only within thin and well-defined soil zones. Ash falls offered an opportunity for these forests to be preserved in their upright, in-situ positions by large quantities of relatively cool ash. Used in Tree Ring Research. 1978 Pliocene, ~4-5 million years Small Slab