New finds reveal Earth’s oldest fossil forest from the Devonian era
Scientists from a renowned British university have identified what appears to be the oldest fossil forest known to science. The remains date to the Devonian period, roughly 390 million years ago, and were uncovered in a sandstone formation in southwestern England commonly called Hangman. The discovery is documented in a recent issue of a major geological journal. The research builds a clearer picture of when plants began to shape Earth’s landscapes in enduring forest ecosystems.
Close examination shows the trees belonged to an extinct group called cladoxylopsids. These plants share distant ancestry with ferns and the ancient horsetails, yet they looked more like towering palms than modern relatives. The team notes that while they resembled trees, their forms and growth patterns were unique to this era and lineage, setting them apart from today’s familiar forest species.
Researchers describe a forest that stood relatively low by today’s standards, with branched crowns reaching approximately four to eight feet in height. The landscape would have featured pale green canopies and a mix of plants adapted to Devonian climates, creating a distinct and early forest environment. The fossil trunks offer a window into how these trees grew, with hollow centers that later filled with sediment and impressions showing exactly where branches connected to the main trunk. In some specimens, the preserved marks disclose the points where limbs once joined the trunk, revealing how the forest was structured in life and how it endured burial and preservation over the ages.
The significance of this find lies in how it reframes the timeline of forest development on Earth. It demonstrates that rapid forest expansion and the establishment of complex plant communities began around this Devonian period. The emergence of such forests would have had profound effects on the atmosphere, soil formation, and the evolution of animal life, helping to shape ecosystems for millions of years to come. By tracing these early trees, scientists gain a better understanding of the environmental conditions that allowed forests to flourish and the ecological relationships that formed in a world very different from today.
In addition to the Devonian forest discovery, paleontologists have studied other ancient forest remnants from around the globe. These comparisons help researchers map how different plant lineages emerged and how forest ecosystems evolved in isolation and interaction across continents. Each new site offers clues about climate shifts, sedimentary processes, and the ways in which trees and other vegetation adapted to shifting landmasses and oceans. The growing body of evidence paints a picture of Earth moving toward modern forest forms through a long and dynamic history.
Future work will focus on more precise dating and on locating additional fossilized forests that can fill remaining gaps in this pivotal era. By integrating field observations with advanced imaging and chemical analyses, scientists hope to reconstruct not only the physical appearance of these ancient trees but also their growth habits, reproduction strategies, and role within early ecosystems. This line of inquiry promises to shed additional light on how forests influenced planetary ecosystems long before mammals and birds dominated the landscape.