Name/Title
PalmEntry/Object ID
78.58.112Description
Assemblage Zone: tropical, subtropical
Chemical Composition: Si O2
Crystal System: Hexagonal
Description: Family: Palmae
Genus: Palmoxlon
Common Name: Palm
Age: Jurassic (Mesozoic)
Location data: Houston, Texas
Description: According to Delmar Smith this specimen is a large petrified palm root. Sliced sides show colors of beige, blue and brown with numerous "eyes" around the beige edge. An open hole is located to one side. Unsliced side is very rough with a protruding center. All is in beige, with a rough pattern of "eyes" all over it.
Size: 13.500"x 15.500"x 2.250"
Type of Fossils Present: Plants
Fracture: conchoidal
Grain Size: Fine
Hardness: 7 Quartz
Lithofacies: Volcaniclastic
Luster: Glassy
Occurrence: Silicified wood, which is the fossilization and opalization of organic woody matter by the deposition of SiO2 in a anaerobic environment to prevent decay. This means that the wood must somehow be buried in an oxygen free enviroment, possibly in the silt-laden river or the bottom of a lake or buried by volcanic ash or volcanic related mudflow. The organic material is then replaced by (SiO2) silica, other minerals determined its colors.
Pressure: Low-Moderate
Rock Color: Medium
Rock Origin: Post-depositional
Rock Type: Sedimentary
Specific Gravity: 2.6
Surface Process: Not apparent
Temperature: Low
Texture: microcrtystalline
Variety: Petrified woods ar hydrous microcrystalline varieties of quartz that can be generally termed as chalcedony .Collection
Petrified Wood CollectionAcquisition
Accession
78.58Source or Donor
Delmar Smith Petrified Wood CollectionAcquisition Method
DonationOther Names and Numbers
Other Number
Other Number: 78.58.112Dimensions
Width
15-1/2 inDepth
2-1/4 inLength
13-1/2 inDimension Notes
Dimensions taken at widest pointsLocation
Location
Shelf
PW-4-CRoom
Petrified Wood RoomBuilding
Crater Rock MuseumCategory
ExhibitMoved By
Jillian Mather KettleyDate
August 1, 2025Notes
Location added while performing inventory
