Glencartholm
Geological Conservation Review site | GCR #859 | Palaeontology | Palaeozoic Palaeobotany
Scotland's geosites are chosen because of their local, national or international importance. Take only photos, leave only footprints: avoid causing any damage to this site. You can walk almost anywhere in Scotland without the need to ask permission or keep to paths, but you have a responsibility to care for your own safety, to respect people's privacy and peace of mind and to cause no damage.
This site is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is an offence to intentionally or recklessly damage the protected natural features of a SSSI, and this includes unauthorised sample collection.
The right of access does not extend to quarries, building sites or any land where public access is prohibited, or to the collection of geological samples.
Summary
The Visean marine shales at Glencartholm yield a compression flora of unusual diversity for their age. Over 25 species, mainly of pteridosperms and lycopods, are known - more than from any other site of this age in Britain. The pteridosperm specimens include large pieces of foliage, providing important data on frond architecture, whilst the lycopods have yielded stem cuticles, rarely found elsewhere. The site is invaluable for understanding the Lower Carboniferous floras, and of prime national significance.
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