> To me, Andrew MacRae's explaining polystrate trees with
> roots and rootlels intact, rules out this happening
> durning a catastrophic flood. A catastrophic flood would
> have removed fragile rootlets.
My experience is with Carboniferous coals. I cannot speak for trees
rooted in coal seams, as all the examples I've seen are not. Where I
have seen the field relations, the trunk is either severed at
the base, or it has truncated roots without rootlet appendages. I've
also observed this in museum specimens.
The interpretation I put on this is that the rocks containing a
polystrate fossil were laid down as a depositional unit, over short
timescales. This could be interpreted as a "catastrophic flood".
Best wishes,
*** From David J. Tyler, CDT Department, Hollings Faculty,
Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.
Telephone: 0161-247-2636 ***