FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Roger Warin]

Hi,
I doubt the origin of this fossil wood. It’s a quartz pseudomorph after Red Spruce. Is it correct?
Thank you.

[Tracy]

Hi Roger,

While I can say that, at a glance, it looks like Yakima Canyon (or other Washington State) wood, experience has taught me that appearance is is a highly unreliable identifier for petrified wood. Two logs recovered from the same site could look completely different, depends on a variety of factors including conditions under which the tree grew, health of the tree at the time it was buried by lava, how well preserved was the organic material, weathering/leaching patterns, and so on. If it doesn't come with a label I trust, I catalogue slabs as being of unknown locality. Not sure what is causing you to doubt the information in this case.

As for whether it's red spruce - needs to be studied under a microscope by someone with expertise identifying fossilized wood species. I personally don't know what types of trees were prevalent in this region, millions of years ago.

Cheers
Tracy

[Roger Warin]

Many thanks Tracy.
Here is the partially erased label.
Roger.

[Tracy]

Curious. "Yakima Ridge West" is awfully precise, almost suggests that the former owner dug it up personally or knew the finder. A quick Google told me there's a peak along the ridge called "Yakima Ridge-West" (the website is Peakbagger). But without absolute proof...will likely remain a mystery.

[R Saunders]

looks like Wash for Washington. not west.

[Roger Warin]

Thank you to all of you.

[Tracy]

Hi again Roger,

As an aside, I'd be more skeptical of the tree species than of the locality. I checked with a friend of mine who confirmed that spruces were around in WA during the Miocene epoch (no idea whether they were common or rare), but mentioned that under int'l paleontology rules, the only way you can conclusively match a fossil and a modern tree species is if you find cones (= reproductive organs) with the log. you have to be able to demonstrate that the fossil tree would have been capable of pollinating the modern tree. Without a cone, it's only possible to identify the genus.

Consider changing your label to "quartz ps. after Picea Sp."

Cheers
Tracy

PS following your lead, I've merged my petrified wood collection with the quartz suite in my minerals collection. :)