Phytopalaeology Journal — Henckel 1905 Ginkgo Fossil

The Ginkgo biloba has been dropping its fan-shaped leaves every autumn for approximately 270 million years. It watched the dinosaurs rise and fall. It survived the asteroid impact that ended the Cretaceous. It outlasted the ice ages. In 1905, the Russian paleobotanist Alexander-Paul Henckel gave its fossil leaf — and the ancient palms, cycads, algae, and diatoms of the Middle Tertiary marsh — their most precise and beautiful scientific portrait.

The front cover presents Henckel's 1905 illustrations of marsh plant fossils from the Middle Tertiary — ancient palm fronds, cycad specimens, and the iconic Ginkgo biloba leaf, one of the most celebrated fossils in the history of paleobotany, documented with the scientific precision that made Henckel's work an essential reference for early 20th-century Russian paleobotanists. The back cover presents Henckel's aquatic plant fossil illustrations — algae, seaweeds, diatoms, and cryptogams rendered with microscopic delicacy, preserved in their millions in the sedimentary rocks of the Tertiary period. Together, the two covers offer a complete portrait of prehistoric wetland life — from the towering ancient palm to the microscopic diatom, from the visible to the invisible.

Product Details

• Format: 5.75 × 8 in (14.6 × 20.3 cm)
• Pages: 150 lined pages (75 sheets)
• Perforated pages — tear out cleanly without damaging the binding
• Paper weight: 90 gsm, suitable for fountain pens and pencils
• Hardcover with matte finish, casewrap sewn binding
• Weight: 400 g (14.1 oz)

Perfect For

• Paleobotanists, fossil plant enthusiasts, and geological researchers
• Admirers of Russian scientific illustration and natural history art
• Wetland ecologists and marsh biologists
• Students of paleobotany, geology, and the history of science
• Everyday writing, field notes, and research journaling
• Thoughtful gifts for anyone captivated by the deep time of the Earth

Read more: The Ginkgo Biloba: A Living Fossil