Phosphohedyphane (rare)

Item Description

Here we have a rarely seen example of Phosphohedyphane from the Blue Bell Mine near Zzyzx, California. There was a time when Phosphohedyphane was considered to be a calcium-rich variety of Pyromorphite, but today Phosphohedyphane is its own species, and defined as the calcium analogue of Pyromorphite. This attractive piece hosts dozens of soft yellow color botryoidal groups with individual "balls" measuring up to 3 mm sitting on Quartz and host rock matrix. It's important to note that there may be many other examples of this species in old collections labeled as "calcian pyromorphite", but they're very likely to be Phosphohedyphane. From the collection of Robert (Bob) Reynolds who passed in August of 2020. Bob was a well-known fossil and mineral expert and former Curator of Earth Sciences at the San Bernardino County Museum in California. The rare phyllomanganate-chromate species reynoldsite was named in his honor in 2011