Carbon-14 determinations of the organic material deposited inside of phytoliths have been carried out since the 1970s when investigators first discovered and utilized the potential of phytolith 14C analysis in archaeological and paleoecological dating. Since then, a number of studies have utilized phytolith dating, and a number of controversies have arisen concerning the original sources of the phytolith carbon, its viability for accurate dating, and the proper pretreatment methods before submission to radiocarbon facilities as well as the protocols at the facilities themselves. This paper reviews these issues and offers some possible answers as to the utility of phytolith 14C analysis in archaeology and paleoecology.