SET IN STONE

THERE’S A PARTICULAR FEELING OF EXCITEMENT THAT COMES FROM RECEIVING A GIFT. IT’S A FEELING OF THE UNKNOWN AND OF ANTICIPATION – AND THEN YOU UNWRAP THE PACKAGE AND FIND SOMETHING (HOPEFULLY) SPECTACULAR. AS PALAEONTOLOGISTS, ROCKS ARE OUR IDEA OF A GREAT GIFT. THAT’S BECAUSE WHEN YOU CRACK THEM OPEN, YOU MIGHT WELL FIND A FOSSIL. AND WE AREN’T TALKING ABOUT DINOSAURS – OUR AREA OF SPECIALISATION IS PALAEOBOTANY. THIS INVOLVES HUNTING FOR PLANT FOSSILS WHICH CAN TELL US A GREAT DEAL ABOUT THE LANDSCAPES OF PAST AGES.

Glossopterids. of Africa, particularly in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and further north into Zambia,Tanzania, Kenya, and even Madagascar.

Some may wonder why fossils matter. Plants never get as much attention as South Africa’s famous rich and diverse fossil heritage, ranging from some of the earliest evidence of life through to