Desert rose
Variety CaSO4·2H2O
Also called Sand rose and Gypsum rose
Take care.
- Damaged by water: Keep it dry: don't wash it, and keep it out of damp places.
- Fragile: Handle it gently and pack it well; it breaks or crumbles easily.
About it
Rosettes of flat gypsum blades crowded with sand grains, grown in drying desert basins. Common from Chihuahua, Mexico, and the Sahara; the similar rose rocks of Oklahoma are barite.
- Type
- Variety
- Group
- Gypsum variety
- Formula
- CaSO4·2H2O
- Hardness (Mohs)
- 2
- Streak
- white
- Lustre
- vitreous (glassy), dull
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Colours
- tan, sandy brown, beige
- Transparency
- opaque, translucent
- Cleavage and fracture
- perfect in one direction; thin flakes bend but do not spring back
Typical values: real specimens vary. For more, see mindat.org.