Tree Flower (Catkin) aff Platycara sp.
Green River Formation
Middle Eocene
Lincoln County, Wyoming

This is a very nice fossil tree flower may be related to the Family Juglandaceae and is a relative to the walnut. The specimen has good detail with a single attached catkin and clusters of sessile flowers. This specimen is from the 18 inch layer.
Fossil examples of this group are represented today by some of our best known trees with many extant species. They usually have hard wood and some have slim elongate clusters of small flowers called catkins. Catkins belonging to this genus are uncommon in the Green River deposits.