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UnderstandWhat it is, what people ask, how far this page goes
Natural inorganic gem materials · Rock / mineral aggregate · Natural identity; treatment status unknown
Petrified Palm Wood
Also known asPalm root · Petrified palm
Fossil palm wood replaced by silica, whose vascular bundles create a distinctive spotted pattern; it is not living wood or palm root. This page compares how the major standards and institutions name it, what must be disclosed when selling it, whether it can be worn every day, how it is treated and identified, and which source each conclusion comes from.
Price, rarity and origin are outside the scope of this wiki.
What this page can answer
This page covers
- How Petrified Palm Wood forms and what gives its colourFormation setting, process and timescale; where its colour and optical effects come from, each finding graded and sourced
- Hardness, density and refractive index of Petrified Palm WoodEach value with its source and check date
- Petrified Palm Wood in English, Chinese and Japanese; national standard namesNames in four languages, the GB/T standard name and the suggested listing name; and: Has any of GIA, FTC, CIBJO or Gem-A put a name for it on record here?
- Listing and disclosing Petrified Palm WoodThe listing name to use; what must be disclosed before sale
What we cannot conclude
- Whether one particular bead is natural, treated or synthetic — only a laboratory report can settle that.
- Geographic origin, unless an origin report accompanies the item.
- Price, rarity or investment value: this wiki covers naming and disclosure only.
Material research: formation, causes and history
What authoritative sources say about how this material forms, what causes its colour and optical effects, where its name comes from and how people have used it. Each statement carries an evidence grade and its sources; it describes the material in general, not any specific piece.
How it forms
Petrified palm wood is a fossil (mineralised) material formed when palm wood is replaced or infilled by silica. Its formation is petrification: the pores of the buried wood are infilled by silica-bearing groundwater (permineralization), and silica simultaneously/subsequently replaces the decomposing organic tissue (replacement), crystallizing within the cellular structure and turning the wood to stone. The silica comes mainly from circulating groundwater during diagenesis, and volcanic ash is a ready silica source, so volcanic-ash deposits commonly host large amounts of petrified wood. Petrified wood is made up of almost solid quartz; its colours come from impurities in the quartz (iron, carbon, manganese). Palms are monocotyledons, and their vascular structure commonly gives the petrified material a distinctive spotted pattern. Note: the cited authoritative source (U.S. National Park Service) describes the general process of petrification but does not specifically define "petrified palm wood".
Scope: Applies to an overview of the formation process and composition of petrified palm wood as a fossil material in which palm wood is replaced / infilled by silica; a specific definition of 'petrified palm wood' is lacking in the cited sources (this entry is built on the general process of petrified wood; see limitations).
Sources NPS Permineralization
Where it forms
Wood buried in fluvial/pyroclastic sediments — a diagenetic setting with circulating silica-bearing groundwater.
Sources NPS Permineralization
Volcanic-ash deposits — volcanic glass is a ready source of silica.
Sources NPS Permineralization
How it forms, step by step
Palm wood is buried rapidly by sediment/pyroclastic material.
Sources NPS Permineralization
Silica-bearing groundwater infills the wood's pores (permineralization).
Sources NPS Permineralization
Silica crystallizes within the cellular structure and replaces organic matter (replacement), turning the wood to stone made up of almost solid quartz.
Sources NPS Permineralization
Link to appearance
Petrified palm wood is made up of almost solid quartz, its colours deriving from impurities in the quartz (iron, carbon, manganese); the palm's monocot vascular structure commonly gives a distinctive spotted pattern (see the naming gap: no authoritative source specifically defines “petrified palm wood”).
Sources NPS Petrified Forest
Timescale
The source gives the timescale concept for petrified wood (silica absorbed over hundreds and thousands of years and crystallized within the cellular structure) but no absolute age for any particular petrified palm wood.
Sources NPS Permineralization
Related base materials
- Palm wood (organic material): Petrified palm wood is a fossil material formed when palm wood is replaced/filled by silica
- Chalcedony / quartz (silica): The mineralising component of petrified palm wood is mainly quartz/silica
Supporting findings
Petrified wood (including palm wood) forms when silica-bearing groundwater enters the pores of buried wood and silica infills and replaces the organic tissue (petrification: permineralization plus replacement).
Evidence grade AScope: The general petrified-wood process; applied here to palm wood by analogy.
Sources NPS Permineralization
The silica comes mainly from circulating groundwater during diagenesis, and volcanic ash is a ready silica source, so large accumulations of petrified wood commonly occur in volcanic-ash deposits.
Evidence grade AScope: Describes setting and silica source.
Sources NPS Permineralization
Causes of colour and optical effects
Impurities within the quartz — iron, carbon and manganese among them — are what give petrified wood its colours.
Evidence grade BScope: A colour-cause statement.
Sources NPS Petrified Forest
Other research findings
Petrified wood is made up of almost solid quartz; silica crystallizes within the cellular structure and replaces the organic material.
Evidence grade AScope: Describes composition and site of crystallization.
Sources NPS Petrified Forest · NPS Permineralization
The cited authoritative source (U.S. National Park Service) does not specifically define "petrified palm wood"; its characteristic spotted pattern arises from the palm's monocot vascular structure, but the cited sources give no palm-specific description, so the lack of a material-specific authority remains a gap.
Evidence grade CScope: Based only on the cited authoritative sources; where they are silent the gap is stated, not filled from commercial sites.
Sources NPS Permineralization · NPS Petrified Forest
Limits of this research
- Research status: No authoritative source specific to this material was found; findings come from the parent material or are marked as gaps
- The authoritative source available (the U.S. National Park Service) does not specifically define "petrified palm wood"; this account draws on the general process by which wood petrifies, the name itself rests on evidence level C only, and commercial sites have not been used to fill the gap.
- No absolute age for any particular petrified palm wood is given by the sources.
- The database marks this name as "clear", but the cited sources provide no palm-specific description, so that clarity could not be fully substantiated.
Methodology
- Origin determination and its limits
- Quality grading and value factors
- How gemmology became a technical discipline
Evidence grades
- A
- Standards bodies, government geological surveys, peer-reviewed research and museum records
- B
- Institutional educational material
- C
- Specialist databases or cautious readings
A statement is never graded above its strongest source.
This section is LumaLark's own factual restatement of public authoritative sources, credited item by item; it contains no verbatim excerpts, images or third-party logos.
DecideListing name, disclosure, care and treatments
- Suggested listing name
- Petrified Palm Wood
GB/T 16552—2017 5.1.1 c)
Construction or treatment status
Natural identity; treatment status unknown
Related:Disclosure and cautions
This page cannot answer
Natural? · Origin · Price
A lab report settles these; this wiki covers naming and disclosure.
Related:What this page can answer
Answer at a glance
Petrified Palm Wood is Palm wood replaced by silica; distinctive spotted pattern from vascular structure; use "Petrified Palm Wood" for listings, and disclose any known treatments.
What this means for you
Before buying, check the recommended listing name "Petrified Palm Wood" and any disclosed treatments on this page, and ask the seller for a grading report if in doubt.
Known uncertainty
- Last reviewed
- 2026-09-01
VerifyNames, standards, technical facts, clauses and sources
Names
Besides Petrified Palm Wood, the name register records "Palm root" and "Petrified palm", for which no restriction on use as a name is recorded.
Names in four languagesThe four-language names of Petrified Palm Wood are given in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English (Petrified Palm Wood) and Japanese (meaning silicified palm wood). Recommended listing nameThe suggested listing name is Petrified Palm Wood. Trade and mineralogical namesMarket names/synonyms include Palm root and Petrified palm, with no restriction recorded on their use as names. Chinese standard nameThe corresponding national-standard name is petrified wood (GB/T 16552—2017 Table A.2, row for silicified jade: silicified asbestos/petrified wood/silicified coral), and the name itself is not listed in the original. Japanese namesFor Japan's GSJ, the entry's own Japanese name is shown, and Japan's GSJ wording for it is not yet verified by this site. Institution usageOn authority wording, the entry's own English name is Petrified Palm Wood; the FTC and CIBJO texts on file have no wording for the name Petrified Palm Wood (checked), and GIA and Gem-A are unchecked; bodies without a recorded wording show the entry's own English name, which does not represent their position.
Name register
Every name recorded for this entry, with how it is classified, whether it may be matched to this entry automatically, whether it may be used as a product name, and the clause it rests on.
This table scrolls sideways on narrow screens.
| Name | Type | Matching | Use as a name | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| no restriction recorded (2) | ||||
| Palm rootEnglish | market name | matched automatically | no restriction recorded | editorial ruling (no clause cited) |
| Petrified palmEnglish | market name | matched automatically | no restriction recorded | editorial ruling (no clause cited) |
How each authority words this name: see Names › Authority wording.
- GSJ (Japan) formal name
- 珪化ヤシ材 (not yet checked for this body — the entry's own Japanese name is shown)
- GB/T naming counterpart (this name is not in the standard)
- 硅化木 (GB/T 16552—2017 Table A.2, row “Silicified Jade(Silicified Asbestos/ Silicified Wood/ Silicified Coral)”)
- Mineralogical name
- Palm wood replaced by silica; distinctive spotted pattern from vascular structure
- Trade names and synonyms
- Palm root (market name) · Petrified palm (market name)
Four-language names
- 简体中文
- 石化棕榈木
- 繁體中文
- 石化棕櫚木
- English
- Petrified Palm Wood
- 日本語
- 珪化ヤシ材
See also: Misleading and prohibited trade names · Supplementary name index
Classification
- Origin
- Natural materials
- Material domain
- Natural inorganic gem materials
- Browsing family
- Fossil and mineralized materials
- Identity tier
- Rock / mineral aggregate
- Mineral chemical class
- Mixed / composition-dependent
- Construction or treatment status
- Natural identity; treatment status unknown
What it is and how it's identified
The material facts for Petrified Palm Wood are written in the cited clause for silicified jade (including silicified asbestos, petrified wood and silicified coral, the whole class), not measured on Petrified Palm Wood alone. Registered for silicified jade (the whole class): overall structure crystalline aggregate, Mohs hardness 5–7, cleavage none, density 2.48–2.85 g/cm³, optical character anisotropic aggregate, refractive index 1.544–1.553 (the site note explains that the cited clause has finer sub-ranges and the overall value is registered), birefringence not measurable on an aggregate, pleochroism not measurable on an aggregate when untreated, the optical effect (cat's-eye effect) can occur, and when untreated the quality factor (lustre) is vitreous, greasy or waxy on fracture surfaces, with silky lustre also seen in silicified asbestos. Chemical composition, luminescence, UV-visible spectrum, infrared spectrum and magnification are registered for silicified jade (the whole class); see the Silicified Jade entry.
Registered material facts
Each row carries its own source and check date and can be cited on its own; “—” means the cited source gives no value, not “none”.
Chemical composition, luminescence, UV-visible spectrum, infrared spectrum, magnification: these whole-class features are given in the cited clause for silicified jade (the whole class), so they are not repeated on the Petrified Palm Wood page; see the material facts on the Silicified Jade entry.
Items below that name the class they cover give the cited clause’s value for that whole class, not a measurement of Petrified Palm Wood (how to read class-level values).
Structure
Petrified Palm Wood — structure (overall): crystalline aggregate
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- silicified jade (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.6 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Durability
Petrified Palm Wood — Mohs hardness: 5–7
GB/T 16553—2017
Reference points on this site: Talc 1–3, Fluorite 4, Apatite 5–5.5, Orthoclase 6–6.5, Topaz 8, Diamond 10 (Source: GB/T 16553—2017); Gypsum 1.5–2, Calcite 3, Quartz 7 (Source: Handbook of Mineralogy); Corundum 9 (Source: GIA Gem Encyclopedia (care guide))
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- silicified jade (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.6 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Petrified Palm Wood — cleavage: none
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- silicified jade (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.6 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Physical properties
Petrified Palm Wood — density: 2.48–2.85 g/cm³
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- silicified jade (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.6 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Optical
Petrified Palm Wood — optic character: anisotropic aggregate
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- silicified jade (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.6 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Petrified Palm Wood — refractive index: 1.544–1.553
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- silicified jade (the whole class)
- General note
- the clause has finer ranges
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.6 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Petrified Palm Wood — birefringence: not measurable on an aggregate
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- silicified jade (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.6 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Petrified Palm Wood — pleochroism: not measurable on an aggregate
GB/T 16553—2017
- Treatment state
- untreated
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- silicified jade (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.6 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Petrified Palm Wood — optical effect (chatoyancy): seen
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- silicified jade (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.6 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
- CIBJO definitions
- chatoyancy
Quality factors
Petrified Palm Wood — quality factor (lustre): vitreous; greasy or waxy on the fracture; silicified asbestos may also show a silky luster.
GB/T 16553—2017
- Treatment state
- untreated
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- silicified jade (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.6 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Each row's “Source & check” expands to the full source; the date beside it is the fact check date.
This material (RI / SG midpoints): 1.548 / 2.67; Closest values: 1Agate 1.537 / 2.63, 2Shoushan Stone 1.56 / 2.7, 3Changhua Stone 1.56 / 2.6, 4Bamboo Coral 1.57 / 2.65, 5Synthetic Beryl 1.57 / 2.69
Show the full chart (330 registered materials)
Outside the full chart's range, drawn as triangles at the edge (RI / SG midpoints): Hematite 3.045/5.12, Synthetic Rutile 2.76/4.26, Rutile 2.753/4.23, Synthetic Moissanite 2.67/3.22
Evidence and sources
Authority basis and clause sources
Sources
- CIBJO – The World Jewellery Confederation. Gemmological Laboratories Book (Blue Book), Gemmological Commission 2024-1.
- CIBJO – The World Jewellery Confederation. The Gemstone Book (Blue Book), 2022.
- SAMR / SAC (China). GB/T 16552—2017 Gems — Nomenclature.
- GIA – Gemological Institute of America (United States). Gem Encyclopedia.
- Gem-A – The Gemmological Association of Great Britain (United Kingdom).
Further reading
Related entries and topic cluster
Parent entry and related pages on this site. Rows marked “Planned” are suggested new content and have no link yet.
This table scrolls sideways on narrow screens.
| Page | Content | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Browsing family | Fossil and mineralized materials | Live |
| Related articles | To be added (placeholder) | Planned |
Who maintains this page
The material facts in the Petrified Palm Wood entry are maintained by the LumaLark wiki and matched one by one to the standard clauses or institutional sources they cite: every fact carries its source (with a clause or page locator) and a check date, so it can be traced back to the original. The entry exists so that buyers and sellers can check naming, disclosure and material facts item by item.