Desert rose is a distinctive, rosette-like crystalline form of gypsum that incorporates sand grains during its growth. These specimens are found in arid, sandy environments and are prized by collectors for their petal-like, bladed aggregates.
Is this desert rose gypsum?
5-step field checkRun through these checks against the specimen in your hand. The more boxes tick, the more confident the ID.
- 1Test the hardnessTry to scratch desert rose gypsum with a known reference. Desert Rose Gypsum sits at Mohs 2 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Desert Rose Gypsum leaves a white streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Desert Rose Gypsum typically shows a pearly luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: brown, tan, white, reddish-brown.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: lenticular, bladed, rosette-like aggregates.
Often confused with
Desert Rose Gypsum vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Baryte is the harder of the two (Mohs 3-3.5 vs. 2); luster reads pearly on Desert Rose Gypsum and vitreous on Baryte.
How to tell apart: Celestite is the harder of the two (Mohs 3-3.5 vs. 2); luster reads pearly on Desert Rose Gypsum and vitreous on Celestite.
Often found alongside desert rose gypsum
Minerals reported to co-occur with desert rose gypsum. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- CaSO₄·2H₂O
- Mohs hardness
- 2
- Density
- 2.3 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Pearly
- Transparency
- Translucent
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Lenticular, Bladed, Rosette-like Aggregates
- Cleavage
- Perfect
- Fluorescence
- Often Light Green to White Under LW UV
- Rarity
- Common
- Uses
- Collector, Decorative
- Host rock
- Evaporite Basins, Arid Sandy Regions
- Typical price
- $5-50 thumbnail, $20-150 cabinet specimen
Where rockhounds find desert rose gypsum
Classic worldwide localities
- Mexico
- Tunisia
- USA (Oklahoma)
- Morocco
- Algeria
Field-hunting tip
Look in evaporite basins, arid sandy regions country — that is the host setting where desert rose gypsum typically forms. If you start seeing halite, quartz, calcite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a lenticular, bladed, rosette-like aggregates habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find desert rose gypsum on the map
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