Researchers have stumbled upon remnants of what is now believed to be the oldest forest ever discovered, with fossils dating back 390 million years, LiveScience reported.
The discovery was made in southwest England by researchers from the universities of Cambridge and Cardiff, and the fossils show a cluster of a now-extinct species of trees called Calamophyton, thought to be related to ferns. Previously, the oldest forest on record was in New York state and dated back 386 million years.
The trees have the appearance of palm trees and would have been around 6.5 to 13 feet high, “much shorter” than their descendants, according to the University of Cambridge. Traces of older trees—in the 500-million-year-old range—have been discovered in other parts of the world, but never close enough to be considered a forest.
