Posted on 21/01/2014
The 'desert rose' crystal
What does it look like?
![Desert roses (Gypsum) from Southern Tunisia, picture by Didier Descouens](https://www.iycr2014.org/__data/assets/image/0005/105971/desert-rose.jpg)
Desert roses (Gypsum) from Southern Tunisia, picture by Didier Descouens
![This schematic representation was generated using the Crystal and Molecular Structure Visualization software Diamond](https://www.iycr2014.org/__data/assets/image/0006/105972/desert-rose_xtl-e1389745853718.png)
This schematic representation was generated using the Crystal and Molecular Structure Visualization "Diamond". http://www.crystalimpact.com/diamond/
What it is?
Desert rose is the given name to gypsum crystals which contain abundant included sand grains and crystallises under a "rosette" shape. The “petals” are crystals flattened on the c crystallographic axis, fanning open in radiating flattened clusters. These are formed in arid sandy conditions such as the evaporation of a shallow salt basin. The desert rose may also be known by the names: sand rock, rose rock, selenite rose, gypsum and barite rose.
For connoisseurs, this is also a famous french dessert, named “Rose des sables” made of corn flakes and chocolate, "un délice!!!"
Where did the structure come from?
This structural information for this post comes from a paper published by Schofield et al. in 1996 in the American Mineralogist Journal.