The Franhueberia axis preserves only the central cylinder of xylem and lacks extraxylary tissues. It can be traced for ≥ 27 mm of length; the two ends are broken, and one is split by a fi ssure in the rock. The axis is oval in cross section because of lateral compression, with a large diameter of 1.9 mm and a small diameter of 1.2 mm ( Fig. 2A ).