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Apophyllite

Specimen cases holding small mineral samples on a reference tray, viewed from above.

Properties

Property table of the Wikipedia article “Apophyllite”, reprinted as recorded in the fetch.
CategoryPhyllosilicate minerals
Formula(K,Na)Ca4Si8O20(F,OH)·8H2O
Crystal systemTetragonal
ColorUsually white, colorless; also blue, green, brown, yellow, pink, violet
Crystal habitPrismatic, tabular, massive
CleavagePerfect on (001)
FractureUneven
Mohs scale hardness4.5–5
LusterVitreous; pearly
StreakWhite
DiaphaneityTransparent to translucent
Specific gravity2.3–2.4

From the Wikipedia article

The name apophyllite refers to a specific group of phyllosilicates, a class of minerals. Originally, the group name referred to a specific mineral, but was redefined in 1978 to stand for a class of minerals of similar chemical makeup that comprise a solid solution series, and includes the members fluorapophyllite-(K), fluorapophyllite-(Na), hydroxyapophyllite-(K). The name apophyllite is derived from the Greek apophyllízo, meaning 'it flakes off', a reference to this class's tendency to flake apart when heated, due to water loss. Exfoliation of apophyllite is also possible by treating it with acids or simply by rubbing it. These minerals are typically found as secondary minerals in vesicles in basalt or other volcanic rocks. A recent change (2008) in the nomenclature system used for this group was approved by the International Mineralogical Association, removing the prefixes from the species names and using suffixes to designate the species. A subsequent nomenclature change approved by the International Mineralogical Association in 2013 renamed the minerals to include both suffixes and prefixes, as shown above.

Source

Source record: crystal-compendium/apophyllite/minerals.json. Fetched from English Wikipedia by the operator 2 October 2026.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophyllite — revision id 1331295988. Text and properties from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.