FIGURE 3a. Photo of fossilized Araucarites longifolia 
leaves from Big Cedar Ridge 
FIGURE 4. Araucaria excelsea, “Norfolk Island Pine”; 
Walmart, USA; Cretaceous to Recent 
2. Family Cupressaceae - Cedars, Cypress and Junipers 
This family includes some of the very common 
conifers of ancient and modern times. All members of 
this family have scale-like foliage on flattened or 
rounded branches, as opposed to needles. A “juniper- 
like” relative was found at Big Cedar Ridge (Fig. 5). 
Juniperus has been found frequently in eastern and 
western North America in rocks of Tertiary age (2-66 
mya) and may not have been well established in 
Wyoming during the late Cretaceous period. Of course, 
junipers are abundant in Wyoming today. The Rocky 
Mountain juniper {Juniperus scopuiorum), Utah juniper 
{J. osteosperma) and Common juniper {J. communis) 
are found throughout most areas of Wyoming. The 
Cretaceous age specimen seen here may resemble 
today’s Common juniper. They favor dry, rocky upland 
soils. Interestingly, many outcrops of sandy Cretaceous 
rock in Wyoming today sport dense juniper growth in the 
rocky soils that form above the outcrops. 
FIGURES. “Juniper-like” fossil. Big Cedar Ridge, 
Wyoming; Meeteetse Formation, Late Cretaceous 
These are just four types of conifers that have been 
found in late Cretaceous- age rocks in Wyoming. Pines, 
spruces and firs show up later in the fossil record. Many 
more types no doubt existed - but they are waiting to 
be discovered beneath ash flows, flood deposits or coal 
beds. 
References: 
Arnold, C.A. 1947. An Introduction to Paleobotany, 
McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York and London. 
Brockman, C. F. 1968. Trees of North America - a Guide 
to Field Identification, Golden Press, New York. 
Tidwell, W. D., 1975. Common Fossil Plants of Western 
North America, Brigham Young University Press, Provo, 
Utah. 
Wing, S. L, Hickey, L. J., and Swisher, C.C. 1993. 
Implications of an Exceptional Fossil Flora for late 
Cretaceous Vegetation, unpublished report. 
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