Ficoxylon sp., a fossil wood of 4.4 Ma (Middle Awash, Ethiopia)

In this article we describe the microscopic structures of a silicified piece of wood collected in the Middle Awash Valley (Ethiopia). The fossil wood was extracted from sediment precisely dated 4.4 Ma. Its attribution to the Ficoxylon species is based upon detailed comparison with published data and with comparisons of some modern species of the genus Ficus and similar characters encountered in fossil woods from West Africa, Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia previously described and attributed to this taxon.