DESERT ROSE

BEAUTIFUL CLUSTER

Selenite, satin spar, desert rose, and gypsum flower are four varieties of the mineral gypsum; all four varieties show obvious crystalline structure. The four "crystalline" varieties of gypsum are sometimes grouped together and called selenite.

All varieties of gypsum, including selenite and alabaster, are composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate (meaning has two molecules of water), with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. Selenite contains no significant selenium; the similarity of names comes from both substances being named from the Ancient Greek word for the Moon.

Desert rose

rosette shaped gypsum with outer druse of sand or with sand throughout - most often sand colored (in all the colors that sand can exhibit)

the desert rose name can also be applied to barite desert roses (another related sulfate mineral) - barite is a harder mineral with higher density

Gypsum flower

• rosette shaped gypsum with spreading fibers - can include outer druse

• the difference between desert roses and gypsum flowers is that desert roses look like roses, whereas gypsum flowers form a myriad of shapes

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