Research finds palm trees once thrived in Alberta
A fossil found southwest of Edmonton has U of S graduate student Christopher West questioning Canada’s climate past.
By Jennifer Thoma
The new discovery of a small palm-leaf fossils came while West's supervisor, David Greenwood from Brandon University (pictured above), was searching through other fossil plant collections at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alta. Palms are typically linked to warm, tropical climates so this fossil is telling us that palms grew much farther north than previously thought.
"Paleocene palm fossils were always missing in Canada," West told CBC News, "and this research helps to fill in some of the gaps in the palm fossil record."