The spotted look of this wood is caused by fossilized rod like structures inside the original forest. At that time the coastline was about 100 miles farther inland than it is today. Petrified wood as a gemstone petrified wood forms when a tree or tree like plant becomes fossilized and all of the matter in the tree is replaced by minerals. Therefore petrified palm wood is a member of the chalcedony family with a hardness of 6 5 to 7. All state fossils all state stones what is now arid texas was a lush tropical forest 100 million years ago.
Texas designated petrified palmwood as the official state stone in 1969 petrified wood is actually a fossil rather than a stone. Petrified wood is also the state gem of washington and the state fossil of north dakota and louisiana. Fossiled it is actually a stone which is like quartz. For its gigantic qualities it is considered as a state symbol of usa. Some facts about petrified palm wood.
When a gemstone cabochon is cut perpendicular to the palm trunk the tubes of the vascular structure often display as an array of dots petrified palm wood is actually a pseudomorph chalcedony replacing the original plant. The minerals usually quartz replace the organic tissue so slowly that the original form is retained allowing you to see the plant s organic structures down to the microscopic level. When a gemstone cabochon is cut perpendicular to the palm trunk the tubes of the vascular structure often display as an array of dots petrified palm wood is actually a pseudomorph chalcedony replacing the original plant. Texas designated petrified palmwood as the official state stone in 1969 petrified wood is actually a fossil rather than a stone. The spotted look of this wood is caused by fossilized rod like structures inside the original forest.
