Please help me figure out what this is. Has a bit of shine to one side

[Alison7]

Hi there. Can someone let me know what they think this is. I was near San Bernardino county  and found this. I can’t tell what it is. Heavier than normal rocks( similar to geode weight) very odd to me. Really stood out. Has a slight bit of banding on the top edge but it is truly beautiful 

[Ludwigia]

Well, I can tell you that it's not a fossil, but I'm afraid I can't tell you what type of rock it is.

[Alison7]

Thank you

[Rockwood]

Thats petrified wood. 

[Alison7]

🙏 thanks 

[Rockwood]

This sure looks like the cell structure of wood to me.

[Alison7]

Thank you so much

[Plantguy]

 

Neat find! Good eyes all around for picking it up and seeing the internal structures!!

Regards, Chris 

[Alison7]

Thanks! Im  excited !  Now I want to research what kind of tree this came from. Any suggestions on how to go about that?

[Shellseeker]

It is the hard truth because I have been down this path for Florida. Basically you identify and go talk to the Paleobotanists in the universities in your county or State.  This is not easy and it is unlikely that anyone outside a university is going to hand you answers.

I start with a google search  _  https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/panama-pire/blog/identifying-fossil-wood/

Every website I find gives me some names of scientists who are interested. It also provides weblinks to Research Papers that those scientists and a way to contact them ( usually email).  Send them email.. Ask if they know scientists who study trees in San Bernadino county.  

I have done this and I know the names of 10-15 Paleo _scientists at the University of Florida... sometimes they answer my questions. 

We are very fortunate to have at least one (maybe more) TFF members who work in a Paleontology department at UF.  @digitHe has many skills but I do not think he has focused on Fossil wood.  A good person to seek advice on how to research Fossilized wood in your location.  

Good luck on the journey !!!

 

[digit]

I do have connections to the paleobotany department at the FLMNH. I can likely predict their response though as this item does not clearly show unassailable evidence of the biological structure of a piece of wood. This is either a piece of pet wood where the silicification has obliterated virtually all of the original cellular structure of the wood or it is a geologic piece with some small signs of laminated layers in a small portion. The object would likely need to be studied in hand under magnification. The OP might be able to find a good lighted magnifier and examine all of the areas looking for undeniable cellular structure similar to a modern piece of wood. I have some silicified coral pieces from the Withlacoochee that show faint polyp structure and others where the diagenetic replacement with silica (in the form of microcrystalline chalcedony) has completely obliterated any evidence that it was once coral. If you didn't know that the locality is pretty much all silica sand with the only larger chunks being silicified coral, you'd easily think that some pieces did not start with a biologic framework.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Plantguy]

5 hours ago, Alison7 said:

Thanks! Im  excited !  Now I want to research what kind of tree this came from. Any suggestions on how to go about that?

@Alison7

 

I see digit and shellseeker have responded...nice! 

Is there any chance you can get closeup/really clear shots of the reddish area I was highlighting and the area Rockwood had highlighted in his comments/photo? Want to confirm/better see the fine lines/layering/details to determine if there is any actual cellular structure preserved or if we are seeing some other mineralogic or geologic/stratigraphic layering/details. Sometimes closeups arent doable so if you cant we understand! 

 

I think at least part of the rock is woody but lets see if any additional photos can confirm or rule that out. Generally even if we think it is wood it usually requires different slices/cross sections examined under magnification by an expert (I'm not that!) as Digit mentions to determine what kind of wood if you can say at all. 

Keeping my fingers crossed we can see more! 

 

Still a cool specimen! 

 

Regards, Chris 

[Rockwood]

The minerals that filled a crack wouldn't have cell structure in them to begin with. And anyone who has split a big old chunk of yellow birch knows that wood grain isn't always straight.  Just sayin' 

[anonaddict]

7 hours ago, Rockwood said:

The minerals that filled a crack wouldn't have cell structure in them to begin with. And anyone who has split a big old chunk of yellow birch knows that wood grain isn't always straight.  Just sayin' 

how *do* you recognize fossil wood? I've collected thousands of fossils and ive never seen a rock where i thought "yeah, that's fossilized wood" I've only ever seen pictures of rocks (often giant ones with whole trunk preserved) where you can tell it is wood or pieced where it has been cut and polished but if I just found a piece I'd never have realized

[Rockwood]

3 hours ago, anonaddict said:

how *do* you recognize fossil wood? I've collected thousands of fossils and ive never seen a rock where i thought "yeah, that's fossilized wood" I've only ever seen pictures of rocks (often giant ones with whole trunk preserved) where you can tell it is wood or pieced where it has been cut and polished but if I just found a piece I'd never have realized

The first piece of wood I found was in a soybean field near Odessa Delaware. I didn't even know it wasn't just wood until I tapped it with a trowel. Another time I carried a ten-pound chunk of shist a mile and a half only to figure it out at home though. Wood is usually common or absent. Hunt where it's common, or at least reported, to gain an eye for it and specimens as reference would be my advice. 

[Coco]

Honestly I try to see wood in this piece, but I don’t see any of the features, especially the grain. I see instead a dense, hard object, and strewn with veins... Nothing in my eyes allows me to affirm that it is wood, I do not think we can dismiss the idea that it is a piece of rock.

 

Coco

[digit]

4 hours ago, anonaddict said:

how *do* you recognize fossil wood? I've collected thousands of fossils and ive never seen a rock where i thought "yeah, that's fossilized wood"

Some fossilized wood is pretty subtle and you'd likely never recognize it unless you had the proper search image for it (and used a magnifying lens to confirm it). There is a type of fossilized palm wood that you wouldn't recognize without knowing that palms don't have growth rings like other wood and look more like a bunch of soda straws bunched together.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmoxylon

 

Other fossilized wood can look quite a bit like wood. That's the kind that I have in my collection as I'd likely not recognize the more subtle forms. I had the opportunity to collect the famous Blue Forest variety in Wyoming many years back. That type often has a woody texture on the outside but is mineralized internally to a bluish-black color. We went there specifically with a guide to take us to a nice outcrop on BLM land where you were allowed to collect a set amount of this.

 

https://www.thefossilforum.com/topic/137727-blue-forest-petrified-wood/

 

Many years later (also in Wyoming) my wife and I came across a small outcrop of splintered up fossilized wood while searching for nicely colored rocks to toss into a rock tumbler. Some of the larger pieces looked just like a weathered piece of modern wood but the weight announced that these were mineralized. You'd think they were very light weight for a piece of punky decaying wood but they were super dense and heavy.

 

https://www.thefossilforum.com/topic/78217-wyoming-fossil-hunting-adventure-september-2017/?do=findComment&comment=825185

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

 

[digit]

Just now, Coco said:

I do not think we can dismiss the idea that it is a piece of rock.

Indeed. All indications are that it is a silicified vein of minerals with a subtle striated texture on the outside that is reminiscent of wood grain. The inside lacks evidence of the growth rings you'd expect and there is only the small section with a laminated texture to reinforce the idea of mineralized wood. That said, I've seen petrified wood where sections had rotted away before being fully mineralized where the expected wood grain is not present. If I were a betting man this would be a longshot for sure but I don't think you could 100% rule it out from just photos. An in-hand view with a magnifying lens might be able to confirm the presence (or absence) of any detailed cellular structure. Without that detailed examination, I'd say odds are it's just a curious mineral vein--but I wouldn't bet my lunch money on it.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Alison7]

Thank you for all your options and knowledge. Here are a few more pics.

 

[Rockwood]

I'm less certain that this is wood. There does still seem to be a texture here that needs to be explained though. 

[DPS Ammonite]

Welcome to the Forum.

 

Can you give us better locality info? San Bernardino County, (the largest in the US), is bigger than 9 states. If you could narrow it down to part of a stream bed then maybe I could see what rock formations are nearby.

Edited 6 hours ago by DPS Ammonite