Phoenix windmillis
Flower
Eocene
Green River Formation
Rio Blanco, Colorado, USA

Rare 6mm 4-petaled flower. Side view on 59mm slab.

Phoenix is a plant genus containing various date palm trees.   It’s earliest-known remains are from the Late Cretaceous when it was well-established in various parts of the world.  It eventually died out in North America as climates trended cooler across the continent.  It still lives today in northern Africa and Asia.

For more information, see:

Allen, S.E.  2015.

Fossil Palm Flowers from the Eocene of the Rocky Mountain Region with Affinities to Phoenix L. (Arecaceae: Coryphoideae).  International Journal of Plant Sciences,  Vol. 176, No. 6 (July/August 2015), pp. 586-596.