They can, for example, tell us about the paleoclimate,that is, what the climate was like millions of years ago. For instance, if we see a lot of plants that only grow in warm, tropical climates, this tells us that the climate was warm at the time.
How well fossil plants are preserved can also tell us a lot. If you see fossilized leaves in a museum, you might be disappointed that they are not perfect specimens; instead, they might look as though they had been chewed on. Well, they probably were, and the damage caused by animals can also tell us something.
First of all, it tells us that the plants were edible. If paleontologists find a lot of plants that have been browsed on or maybe broken and trampled, they have an idea of how many animals were living in an area at any one time.
The size of the bite marks can tell paleontologists what sort of animals were feeding on the plants. Large tooth marks generally indicate large animals, while small bite marks generally indicate that small animals such as small dinosaurs or rodents fed on the plants. But we cannot jump to conclusions too quickly. The large sauropod dinosaurs (see my previous article, "Dinosaur Primer" for more information about the sauropods) had small skulls, despite their large size. (More information about dinosaurs and plants.)
Ancient insects also had an important effect on plants, and many left behind evidence of their plant meals. By examining burrow trails, holes, and ragged edges, paleontologists can determine what sort of insect might have been feeding on a particular plant. Studying the modern, extant relatives of extinct plants and insects can help scientists to determine this.
Insect damage to plants can also tell us a lot about the paleoclimate. Scientists at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, are closely studying the museum's extensive collection of tens of thousands of fossilized leaves. They have determined that in the early Eocene Period (55 million years ago), plants and animals were exceptionally abundant, and there appears to have been an explosive increase in the number and variety of insects at this time. Some scientists believe that this may indicate that the global warming we are experiencing now may lead to a similar population explosion of insects. However, entomologists (scientists who study insects) and climatologists (scientists who study the earth's climate) warn that the conditions are not the same, and we cannot jump to conclusions from this information.
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