Chinese scientists discovered the oldest fossil forest in Asia, lending more clues to how those ancient plants evolved to become coal finally.

中国科学家在亚洲发现了最古老的化石森林，为古代植被最终如何变成煤炭提供了更多线索。

The study published on Thursday in the journal Current Biology reported the largest example of a patch of forest that grew in the Devonian period, which was 419 million to 359 million years ago.

It was made up of 250,000 square meters of fossilized lycopsid trees near Xinhang Town in east China's Anhui Province.

The lycopsids in the fossilized forest resembled palm trees, and grew in a coastal environment prone to flooding. They were normally less than 3.2 meters tall, but the tallest one was estimated at 7.7 meters, according to the study.

Giant lycopsids would later thrive in a period that followed the Devonian, and became much of the coal that is mined today. The Xinhang forest in Anhui showed the early root systems, which made their height possible in the Carboniferous period (359 million to 299 million years ago), according to the study.

The forest also contributes to our understanding of atmospheric carbon dioxide decline and coastal consolidation at that time.