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, 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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