A tree from the past.

This tree had a large trunk and was common in swampy forests, like the present-day Everglades (Florida, USA), about 5 million years ago (Pliocene). It should be a very frequent tree in those days, because many others fossils of Juniperoxylon were found in several places: Barracão, Rio Maior, Alenquer, Óbidos, Leiria, etc. It was also frequent in other European and Asian regions.

The growing rings indicate that this specimen lived more than 250 years. Its trunk is lignified and not petrified, so it can bum like wood. Juniperoxylon belongs to the Conifer order and the junipers are its present equivalents.