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Early seed plant. Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.
OBJECT DOSSIER · SMITHSONIAN OPEN ACCESS

Early seed plant — Elkinsia sp.

SAGE Museum Deep Time scientific dossier
Date / Period
Late Devonian · Late Devonian; the inventory identifies this only as Elkinsia sp., so no species-level numeric age is assigned.
Object Type
plant fossil
Medium
representative_scientific_visual
About This Object

Geologic period: Late Devonian

Age: Late Devonian; the inventory identifies this only as Elkinsia sp., so no species-level numeric age is assigned.

Feeding: Photosynthetic plant.

Body plan: Branching seed-fern-type plant bearing reproductive structures rather than flowers or fruits.

Evidence: Plant anatomy and reproductive structures establish seed-plant affinity.

Why it matters: The origin of seeds was a major evolutionary innovation, allowing plants to reproduce without relying on exposed free-swimming reproductive stages.

Plain Language Identity: An early seed-producing plant belonging to the Devonian radiation of seed plants.

What You Are Looking At: Fossilized structures from an early seed-plant lineage.

Ecosystem: Late Devonian terrestrial vegetation.

Preservation: Plant compression or mineralized plant fossil.

Open Questions: Because the Smithsonian inventory says Elkinsia sp., do not silently identify the object as Elkinsia polymorpha.

Source Urls: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits/deep-time-virtual-tour-fossil-list; https://openstax.org/books/biology-2e/pages/26-1-evolution-of-seed-plants

Enrichment Method: SAGE curated research pass; title and scientific name matched; evidence separated from inference

Scientific name: Elkinsia sp.

Evidence / representation: Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.

Why It Is In This SAGE Exhibit

Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.

Oceans Before Dinosaurs: The Rise of Complex Animal Life.

Provenance
Smithsonian Deep Time source scene: Early Life in the Ocean
Exhibition History
Included in the SAGE Museum Dinosaurs & Deep Time staging exhibit.
Subjects & Themes
Elkinsia sp. Late Devonian plant fossil Early Life in the Ocean Oceans Before Dinosaurs
ORIGINAL COLLECTION SOURCE

This object page stays inside SAGE Museum. The Smithsonian link below is provided only as the original scholarly collection record. It opens separately.