Traces of Earth's Earliest Known Forest Discovered in England

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The earliest known fossils of a forest, dating back around 390 million years, have been discovered in England’s southwest, researchers said on March 7.

Footage and photographs from the site along the coast of Devon and Somerset show what researchers said were the “oldest fossilised trees ever found in Britain, and the oldest known fossil forest on Earth.”

“The fossilised trees, known as Calamophyton, at first glance resemble palm trees, but they were a ‘prototype’ of the kinds of trees we are familiar with today,” researchers said.

The fossils were found by researchers from the universities of Cambridge and Cardiff near Minehead in Somerset, with results published in the Journal of the Geological Society. Credit: University of Cambridge/Neil Davies via Storyful