What Are Phytoliths?
Understanding the plant-derived microparticles that help researchers reconstruct ancient environments and human-plant relationships.
Phytoliths are microscopic particles of silica formed in and between cells of plants in many plant families. First observed and described nearly 200 years ago, many phytoliths have distinctive shapes (morphotypes) that often reflect the plant and type of cell in which they were formed. When a plant dies and decomposes, its phytoliths are released into the soil, becoming proxies for the plant that produced them.
Being largely composed of silica, phytoliths are much more highly resistant to weathering than other plant microfossils such as pollen, often preserved in soils and sediments for hundreds to thousands of years (even millions of years in fossilized deposits). Phytolith research has grown exponentially during the past 50+ years as researchers in many scientific disciplines, particularly archaeology and paleoecology, have found phytoliths are highly useful to help answer a multitude of questions about the past.
Why Phytoliths Matter
Exceptional Durability
Their silica composition enables preservation for hundreds to thousands of years, far outlasting pollen and other organic microfossils.
Diagnostic Morphotypes
Many phytolith morphotypes have distinctive shapes that only occur in specific plant taxa, enabling researchers to identify the plants that produced them.
Rapid Interdisciplinary Growth
Over the past 50+ years, phytolith research has expanded across archaeology, paleoecology, and many other scientific disciplines.
Phytolith Morphotype Gallery
