Platycarya sp.
Green River Formation
Parachute Creek Member
Middle Eocene
Uintah County, Utah

This is a beautiful fossil leaf from the Family Juglandaceae and is a relative to the walnut. The leaf is 5 cm long. The specimen has very good venation and the margin detail is well defined.
Fossil examples of this group are represented today by some of our best known trees with many extant species. They usually have hard wood and some have slim elongate clusters of small flowers called catkins. Catkins belonging to this genus are also found in the Green River deposits.