Petrified Palm is a fossilized plant material characterized by the distinct, star-like vascular bundles (often appearing as 'dots' or 'fibers') seen in cross-section. It forms when minerals like silica replace the organic structure of palm wood over millions of years, often resulting in highly polished lapidary material.
Is this petrified palm?
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 petrified palm with a known reference. Petrified Palm sits at Mohs 6.5-7, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Name the organismDecide what left the fossil before worrying about the rock. Organism: Extinct palm (genus Palmoxylon). Age: Late Cretaceous to Miocene (about 84.9 to 11.6 million years ago).
- 3Check the preservationPreservation: Replaced by silica, with prominent rod-like structures. That controls the weight, the hardness and how the piece takes a polish.
- 4Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: vitreous.
- 5Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: brown, tan, black, red, white, gray.
Often confused with
Petrified Palm vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside petrified palm
Minerals reported to co-occur with petrified palm. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Mohs hardness
- 6.5-7
- Density
- 2.6-2.7 g/cm³
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Rarity
- Common
- Uses
- Lapidary, Collector, Decorative
- Host rock
- sedimentary strata
- Organism
- Extinct palm (genus Palmoxylon)
- Age
- Late Cretaceous to Miocene (about 84.9 to 11.6 million years ago)
- Preservation
- Replaced by silica, with prominent rod-like structures
Where rockhounds find petrified palm
3 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Texas
- Louisiana
- Arizona
- India
- Indonesia
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: sedimentary strata. If you start seeing quartz, chalcedony, opal in float, you are in the right ground. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in New Mexico, Texas. Start trip planning there.
Common questions
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Find petrified palm on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
