Fossil Grove

It was discovered in 1887 and contains the fossilised stumps and the stigmarian system of eleven extinct Lepidodendron lycopsids,[1] which are sometimes described as "giant club mosses" but are more closely related to quillworts.

The Fossil Grove is managed as a museum and has been a popular tourist attraction since it opened for public viewing in 1890.

The quarry in which the fossils were found is an igneous dolerite sill that was intruded into the sediments and two of the trunks during the Early Permian period approximately 290 million years ago.

The remnants of trunks belonged to Lepidodendron veltheimianum lycopods and the underground systems are called under the form taxon, Stigmaria.

The root-like appendages have the dichotomous branching pattern indicative of Stigmaria rhizomes and extend over 10 ft (3.0 m) from the trunks.

The distribution of the trunks suggests that the Grove was once part of a Paleozoic forest that was chiefly composed of Lepidodendron lycopsids.

The sand inside the trunks became solid rock, and the outer bark of the lycopsids became a thin layer of coal.

The Fossil Grove Trust (along with Historic Scotland) are working with the Council to improve the drainage, ventilation, and interpretation of the site.

[6] About 50 m (160 ft) east of the Fossil House is an oak sculpture of a lycopod tree with a giant centipede.