Kaitlyn Gurule, VP and Programs
Sakura Ishi (Cherry blossom stones) from Kyoto, Japan.
Mica pseudomorphs of complex cordierite – indialite intergrowth.
This month, we are pleased to welcome Dr. John Rakovan as our speaker!
Dr. John Rakovan is the state mineralogist and senior museum curator of the New Mexico Mineral Museum at the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. He has been an executive editor of and regular contributor to Rocks & Minerals magazine since 2001 and was a professor of mineralogy at Miami University for 25 years.
John has broad research interests including crystal growth, structural and morphologic crystallography, and mineral deposit formation.
Dr. John Rakovan will be presenting on cherry blossom stones! Cherry blossoms have been revered for more than a millennium in Japan and have become one of its most recognized icons.
In the city of Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture, one can find mica pseudomorphs after complex cordierite-indialite intergrowths. These remarkable pseudomorphs resemble cherry blossoms and are known locally as sakura ishi, which means cherry blossom stone in Japanese. As with the real cherry blossoms, sakura ishi are also revered by mineralogists and mineral collectors in Japan.
The cordierite-indialite precursors to these pseudomorphs are only found in this unusual intergrowth in central Japan, mostly in Kyoto Prefecture.
To understand how sakura ishi form it is necessary to look at the unaltered cordierite-indialite precursors. These can be found elsewhere in Kyoto, including Daimanji, one of the most famous mountains in that city.
The formation history of these unusual crystals includes segregated epitaxic growth of cordierite on indialite, metastable crystal growth, transformation of indialite to cordierite and finally pseudo-morphic replacement by mica.
This talk will cover the interesting mineralogical phenomena involved in the formation of intriguing mineral specimens.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Rakovan as our presenter this month. I also look forward to seeing everyone a bit early for our tailgate rock exchange before listening to a great presentation.