8.95" Tall, Petrified Wood Bookends with Fungal Rot - Arizona

This is a gorgeous pair of bookends made from Late Triassic aged, Arizona petrified wood. What makes this petrified wood specimen so unique is the wood contains fossilized fungus (the circular formations). This parasitic fungus grew on the tree while it was still alive and has been named Polyporites wardii.

The bookends have been polished on the outer face and the contact points have been lined with felt. Each bookend slightly varies in size, with one measuring 8.95" tall, 5.5" wide and 1.7" thick, while the other is 8.7" tall, 5.5" wide and 1.7" thick.

This wood is similar to petrified wood found in the Petrified Forest National Park near Holbrook, Arizona. Its petrified forest encompasses nearly 100,000 acres, and is almost entirely represented by the extinct conifer Araucarioxylon arizonicum.

The petrified wood from Araucarioxylon arizonicum happens to be the state fossil of Arizona. It is frequently referred to as "rainbow wood" because of the large variety of colors some specimens exhibit. The reds and oranges come from hematite inclusions within the silica, the yellows from limonite, and the purples from extremely fine hematite spherules.

Araucarioxylon arizonicum is estimated to have grown more than 150 feet high and dominated the tropical forests in what is now Arizona nearly 225 million years ago.
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DETAILS
SPECIES
Araucarioxylon arizonicum & Polyporites wardii (Fungus)
LOCATION
Arizona
FORMATION
Chinle Formation
SIZE
8.95" tall, 5.5" wide, 1.7" thick, pair weighs just under 11.5 lbs
CATEGORY
ITEM
#141082
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