Petrified Forest National Park 4
Wayne's WordIndexNoteworthy PlantsTriviaLemnaceaeBiology 101BotanySearch
 Thumbnails     Image Page 1     Image Page 2     Image Page 3     Image Page 4     Image Page 5     Image Page 6     Araucarioxylon 
Petrified Forest National Park
Images © W.P. Armstrong November 2008
Image Page 4
Petrified Wood For Decoration & Jewelry
Logs of the petrified "Araucarioxylon arizonicum" complex are often reddish from iron. Other colors come from additional minerals that soaked into the wood in the silica-saturated waters. Iron, carbon, manganese, and sometimes cobalt and chromium produced patterns and blends of yellow, red, orange, green, black, blue, brown, white, and pink. Petrified wood is surprisingly heavy, weighing nearly 200 pounds per cubic foot, with a hardness of seven on the 10 point Moh scale. Compare this rating with 3.5 for a copper penny and 10 for diamond. Large logs for sale in shops may weigh nearly a ton or more. Most of the logs sold in shops come from private land. Diamond saws are used to cut the logs into sections. Diamond sanders polish the cut pieces into a smooth, glass-like finish.

Petrified Woodworthia

Petrified wood of a different color. Left: Woodworthia, a primitive Triassic conifer in an unknown family. Note the large warty bumps on the trunk. Right: Unknown conifer formerly assigned the superfluous name of Araucarioxylon arizonicum. Precise identification requires detailed microscopic examination of the wood.

Return To WAYNE'S WORD Home Page
Return To NOTEWORTHY PLANTS Page
Go To Biology GEE WHIZ TRIVIA Page
Go To The LEMNACEAE ON-LINE Page