Fossil?

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

Found in a SW PA creek bed.

 

[Red-Coat]

Yes it's a broken section of a fossilised Calamites stem. Calamites (now extinct) was an arborescent (tree-like) horsetail around 100 feet tall or more at maturity and closely related to small modern horsetails of the genus Equisetum. They date to the Carboniferous Period (around 360 to 300 million years ago). Here's an example for comparison:

 

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

Yes it's a broken section of a fossilised Calamites stem. Calamites (now extinct) was an arborescent (tree-like) horsetail around 100 feet tall or more at maturity and closely related to small modern horsetails of the genus Equisetum. They date to the Carboniferous Period (around 360 to 300 million years ago). Here's an example for comparison:

View attachment 1823434

Thx! That was quick. Learned something new today.